Fatal Choice
by Shezu
Summary: This is part of a contest I'm doing for The Muse Bunny. Alaina's past and present seemed normal until she get a crystal and sword from her brother on his deathbed. She find out that someone in Shinra is responsible for his death. What will she do?
1. Deathbed

A/N: This is a story I'm writing for a contest on The Muse Bunny. Please Read and Review.

Enjoy

"Nice shot, Alaina." Came a call from behind her. Alaina set down her silver 9mm on the table in front of her, next to her extra ammunition and magazines. She took out the orange earplugs out of her ears. Turning around, she smiled at the person who called to her. He had spiked black hair that hung in his face, cut short at his nape. He stared at her with a fixed gaze, his narrow ice-grey eyes calculating but, at the same time, loving. Alaina smiled, pulling her safety glasses up into the top of her head.

"Hey Dwayne. What are you doing. . ." Alaina looked him over. He wore a black, sleeveless shirt with a high collar, a buckle at the hem of the neck of his shirt. Over the top of his shirt, he wore a sleeveless, white, jacket. Three black buckles trailed down the right flap to connect the two pieces of fabric together, though Dwayne didn't bother to buckle his jacket. Hanging by thin black cord, he wore a, faintly glowing, light blue crystal. He wore a mess of tan belts over top of his dark denim pants. His pants hid most of his black leather boots. His hands were gloved, a black leather to his elbows with the pinky and ring finger of both gloves missing. Slung across his back was his black sword. There was a cross at the end of the blade, just before it met the handle. Just under the cross, was a red gem, a powerful and high-level materia. Alaina frowned and looked back up into his eyes, now standing in front of her. He was about six inches taller than her, making him about 6' 2".

"Why are you wearing that?" She asked, though she feared the answer. Dwayne's eyes clouded a little at that. Alaina gave him a sad look.

"You going then?" She asked him. He looked down at the grey tiled floor of the shooting range and nodded. Alaina felt tears prickle in her eyes. She grabbed his arm and looked up at him, much like a frightened child.

"You can't go! It's dangerous out there! Tell Shinra you can't go!" Dwayne gave her a sad smile. He gave her a pat on her head, trying to smooth out her long, waist length, charcoal colored hair.

"You know I can't do that. Besides, we need the money. I'll get paid extra for going on this mission." He said. Alaina knew he was right. She looked down at her clothes. An old worn, black, sweater that was too big on her, the top of the sleeve resting loosely on her shoulders. Under that, she wore a plain white spaggetti strap t-shirt. Her plain jeans wear once her mothers, who was taller than her by a few inches, so they were cuffed so she didn't trip over them. The knee of her left pant leg was torn. The lower part of her right leg was as well, though it had a blue and white checkered patch over it. Her feet were covered by old and worn grey tennis shoes. Alaina was rather skinny as well, more muscled than fat. The gun she'd been using was on loan to her from the owner of the shooting range. He was an older man, scruffy with dark brown hair. He wasn't overly muscled but he was by no means small. He treated both Alaina and Dwayne like his own children. Dwayne's sword and crystal were both passed down the family for a long time. Other than that, the clothes Dwayne wore and the apartment they lived in, was paid by Shinra for his work on different missions. Food and others, they had to pay for themselves. Dwayne didn't make all that much money. He was only a third class SOLDIER and didn't make that much but he was very skilled and climbing up the ranks. He was starting to get notice. Even some of the first class SOLDIER had their eyes on him.

"Yo-you're going then?" She asked, her voice quivering. She never really liked it when he left for his missions. Today, however, was worse. She had this horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I have to. They said that they'll consider me for second class if I do well on this mission." He said, a slight twinkle in his, rather dull, ice-grey eyes. Alaina still didn't like it one bit.

"You won't get that if you die while you're trying to finish!" She said, rather loudly. Dwayne gave her a sad smile, petting her head.

"You know we need the money. I'm strong. I'll be fine." He answered, trying to comfort her as best he could. It didn't help. The horrible feeling in her gut was still there.

"At least let me come with you and help." She pleaded. Dwayne shook his head.

"I'm not going to let my little sister out on the battlefield where she can get hurt." He said. Being her older brother, he was always a little over protective. However, he was now even more over protective. Ever since their parents died he'd done everything to protect and care for his little sister. After they'd died Dwayne had been so paranoid. He hardly ever let her out of his sight. He only stopped watching her so obviously when she learned how to protect herself and started carry her gun around wherever she went. Dwayne was still paranoid but he hid it better now then before. Alaina figured it was because Dwayne didn't want to lose her like their parents. In a way, Alaina felt the same way, though she wasn't nearly as paranoid as he was. So, this feeling in her stomach, the same one she had when her parents had died, scared her more then normal.

"Please, Dwayne. Let me come with! I don't want you to get hurt." Dwayne bent down a little closer so he was looking her straight in her eyes. His expression was strict, as if he wanted to make sure she understood.

"How do you think I feel? You know why I can't take you along." He said, his tone serious. He stood back to his full height and pulled his sister into a tight hug.

"I can't lose you like mom and dad." He whispered softly into her hair. After a moment, he pulled away, holding her at arm's length and looking her straight in the eyes.

"I'll be alright, Alaina. I'll protect the both of us. I always have." Dwayne then pulled Alaina closer to him kissed her forehead. Alaina looked up at him, tears prickling in her eyes again. Before Alaina could say anything to counter him, he pulled her into another hug.

"I'm going Alaina. I'll be fine. I'll be back before you know it." He said, pulling away again and giving her a small smile. Giving her another pat on the head, he turned around and walked back towards the door. Alaina's eyes widened.

"You're going now?" Dwayne turned to her and gave her an apoligetic smile.

"Yeah. I was suppose to be going there right away but I wanted to stop by to tell you before I left." She frowned a little.

"How long are you going to be gone?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"A few days, that's all." He said, smiling softly. Alaina stared at the floor, crossing her arms in front of her and linking her fingers together. The sound of Dwayne's boots on the tile floor alerted Alaina of his approach but she didn't look up at him, her tears threatening to spill over. When she could see the top of his boots, she felt his gloved hand on her chin. Alaina grabbed his hand to keep him from making her look up. Dwayne sighed.

"Alaina. Look at me." She hesitated, loosening her grip on Dwayne's hand. Dwayne took this chance to tilt her head up.

"I'll be alright, kiddo. I'll come back in a few days." He said softly. For a moment Alaina didn't say anything. She only looked at him, trying to keep her tears from spilling.

"Dwayne? Where is this mission taking you?" She asked. The hand on Alaina's chin tensed. Alaina's eyes widened.

"No! Please don't tell me you're going to Wutai!" She said, her voice cracking once or twice in fear. Dwayne gave her a sorry expression but said nothing. Alaina clenched his hand in both of hers. Wutai was dangerous. They would hurt him. There's no way he could go there without her.

"Alaina. I know what you're thinking. I have to go. Like I said earlier, I'll be alright. I can take care of myself." As much as she wanted to argue, she knew her brother to be stubborn. When he made up his mind, there was no stopping him. Clearly, he'd already done just that. Reluctently, Alaina let go of her brother's hand and let her own fall limply to her sides.

"Oi~! Hurry up! We need to go now, yo." Came a call from the other side of the door. The owner sound way too cocky for Alaina's tastes. Dwayne looked over his shoulder at the door for a second before turning back to his sister. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'll be back before you know it. Be good." He whispered, giving her yet another kiss on the forehead. Alaina just nodded and watched, solomly, as her brother rushed out the door to meet whoever was calling him. As much as Alaina wanted to deny it, she couldn't get rid of the feeling in her gut that told her that something bad was going to happen. Staring at the door her brother had just come from, Alaina hoped against all hope that he would be alright. Still, the feeling just wouldn't go away.

It's been week now. Alaina stood in front of the Shinra building. Her heart was beating in her throat. She was so nervous. Usually, she would wait for him at home or at the range, but, for some reason, something told her to come today. She had no idea why, but she couldn't help but come. However, she had no idea why she was here. She'd been standing there for almost an hour without a clue as to what she was going to do. The guards were starting to get suspisous of her. Alaina didn't pay them any mind, however, her eyes fixed on the large building in front of her. Alaina went over it in her head many times but she couldn't find a reason to be there, nor could she bring herself to leave.

"Ma'am? Is there something you need?" Came a voice behind her. Alaina jumped at the sudden sound and turned on her heels. She looked the man in front of her over. He had spiked black hair, unruly but attractive at the same time. He stared at her with worried blue eyes, reminding her of a puppy. He wore a uniform similar to that of the normal second class SOLDIER, though it was in black and he wore no helmet. The large sword he had clipped to his back was different from normal as well. It looked rather large and heavy to Alaina.

"You're in SOLDIER, right?" She asked suddenly, her eyes twinkling with as much hope as she would allow. The man smiled, puffing out his chest proudly.

"Yep! SOLDIER Zack, second class." Alaina smiled. It was quite possible that he might know something.

"Do you know Dwayne Stevens, third class?" She asked, stepping a little too close to the man in her egerness. He stumbled back a little.

"Oh Dwayne? Yeah I know him." The man said, his happy demeanor dimming a little. The light in Alaina's eyes dimmed as well.

"Do. . . do you know him?" The man asked, seemingly nervous at Alaina's sudden saddened mood. She simply nodded, her eyes falling on the ground.

"Did. . . Did something happen to him?" She asked, her voice no more than a whisper. When she didn't get an answer, she looked up at him. He stared at her with wide eyes, his jaw hanging open a little.

"N-No one told you?" He exclaimed, a little louder than he intended, startling the both of them. Alaina stared at him for a moment before shaking her head, hesitantly. Suddenly, the man grabbed her hand and practically dragging her through the gates before her, or the guards, could say anything. Alaina thought about pulling out her gun, sitting on her hip and hidden under her oversized sweater. However, she didn't feel any fear for this man. He seemed nice and she was a pretty good judge of character.

After a while of pulling and tugging on the man's part and many turns later, the two of them ended up standing in front of a door to, what had to be, a medical part of the Shinra building. There was no sign on the door but Alaina was certain of who was on the other side. She looked up at the man, her expression sad and frightened. The man let go of her wrist and pushed at her shoulder softly.

"Go on in." He said softly, trying his best to give her a comforting smile. Alaina, even more unnerved, nodded and pushed the door open with tentive fingers. Inside, laying on the bed, was her brother, as she'd though. He was covered in bandages and hooked up to a bunch of machines. She rushed over to his side and placed her hand on his shoulder. His eyes opened instantly.

"Alaina." He said, his voice husky. Reaching up to grip her hand, he looked her in the eyes.

"Please. . . take the sword and crystal." His voice was just above a whisper as he looked into her eyes. His eyes were far duller than they usually were. She looked down at him, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"P-please, Alaina." He said His voice seemed so weak to her ears. Alaina nodded at his request. Dwayne sighed and laid back against the pillow, closing his eyes. After a moment, he looked back up at her. He gave her hand a soft squeeze.

"You'll be alright, Ali." He said, using his old nickname for her. He let go of her hand to cup her cheek in his palm. His hand was cold against her flushed skin.

"You're a strong girl, you'll do be alright. Promise me?" Alaina nodded. Her tears came faster, seeing the light start to leave her brother's ice-grey eyes. Letting go of her hand, he grabbed the chain around his neck and yanked it free. He grabbed her hand again and placed it in her palm. With tears in her eyes, she watched the light leave his. He was gone.


	2. SOLDIER

**This is the next part for my contest. I have written all five phrases and all five words and it's more than 1,500 words and less than 2,500 words. I think I'm all set. Please read and Review. **

**Thank you xxDarkAssassinxx. You're awesome! XD**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Alaina awoke to the sun seeping through the curtains. She smothered her face in the pillow, inhaling deeply as she tried to go back to sleep. However, the usual, but familiar sense that filled her nose, alerted her to the fact that she was not in her own room. Alaina turned her head to the side and looked around. It was a very normal looking room with a blue and black color theme. She looked down at the bed she was laying on. The pillow was stained in different colors in particular spots where she had been laying. It was her brother's room. She'd cried herself to sleep last night, thinking and talking about her brother's death. His death wasn't an accident, she was sure of that. The only thing she wasn't sure of, was who killed him. She needed to find out. She'd talked with the man who brought her to Dwayne, Zack Fair she found out his name was. He knew her brother but he never knew he had a sister. He'd been told once that Dwayne had a sibling but he knew nothing else.

Alaina had grown very close with the second class SOLDIER. He'd taken her home and talked with her for a while, let her cry on his shoulder. The last thing she'd remembered was Zack rubbing her back as she cried into the pillow and whispering quite words of comfort to her. Alaina looked around. Zack wasn't there.

_I guess that's okay. He might not approve of what I have in mind but I have to know._Alaina got stood up and walked over to her brother's closet, her socks making little to no noise on the hardwood floor. She opened up the door and looked around. There wasn't much there. A few pairs of jeans were folded on top the metal rod that held his hanging clothes. On the hangers, were a few jackets and his old SOLDIER uniform, before he was aloud to where the one he liked. Alaina took it off the hanger and put it on the bed, along with the helmet that came with. For a while, she stared at the clothes, thinking back to when her brother had first gotten them.

"_So? What do you think?" Dwayne asked, holding out his arms proudly so Alaina could get a good look of his outfit. It looked good on him. She smirked. _

"_What? Are you some new SOLDIER trainee or something?" She asked in a mocking voice. Her brother frowned, looking more like a puppy than he normally did. It almost made Alaina feel bad. Almost._

"_I'm a SOLDIER, not a SOLDIER in training!" He exclaimed, his arms flailing and his face red._ _Alaina laughed at him. He always got worked up whenever people underestimated him. _

Looking down at the uniform, she smile, though her eyes prickled with tears that threatened to spill over. She walked into her brother's bathroom, the only one in the apartment besides her own. Alaina started the shower. She stripped down, having worn the same clothes from yesterday, and stepped inside, letting the warm water trickle down her back and sooth her tense muscles. As she let the water run down her body, her mind drifted to her life before they had moved to Midgar. She use to live in between Gonogaga and the ancient forest. Her parents owned a barn. Though, instead of a horse, the barn housed Chocobos. It was safe to say that she was a bit of a country girl. She remembered one time when her father got all worked up about her riding one of the horses.

_"Alaina! Come over here!" Came her fathers's voice. Alaina ushered her little pony over to her father, pulling her to a stop when she got in front of her father. He stood, arms crossed, in front of their barn, which was connected to their house. He seemed upset, though not entirely mad. She slipped down off her horse and walked toward him, skipping along with a happy smile on her six year old face. Her frown faded when she noticed her father's expression, however. _

_"Alaina. What have I told you about riding horses?" He asked, his voice stern but worried as well. Alaina pouted._

_"Come on daddy! I haven't been sick in a whole month! This is cause for celebration!" She exclaimed. Alaina didn't have the best of health. Often, she would break out in a high fever, usually when ever she strained herself too much. _

_"Alaina! You just got over your fever yesterday! There-"_

_"Let it die, dear. Just. . . let it die." Came Alaina's mother's voice. Alaina and her father looked up to see Alaina's mother walking towards them, Dwayne trotting beside her. Alaina looked up and smiled. _

_"Don't worry daddy." She ran over to Dwayne and hugged him around the neck, looking over her shoulder at her dad. _

_"Dwayne will protect me." She said, a cute smile on her young face. _

Alaina laughed at her own memory. It was a hollow laugh. Shaking her head, she shut off the water and stepped out. Drying herself off quickly, she picked up the SOLDIER uniform. Though it took her a while to figure it out, she finally managed to get into the uniform. Looking herself over in the mirror once, she smiled sadly. She just needed to pin up her hair to hide it under her helmet. With a few well placed pins, she managed to get her charcoal grey hair to pile neatly ontop of her head, enough to hide it under the helmet without it looking out of place. Checking back at the mirror, she smiled, when she had the helmet on, she looked nothing like herself. Having bound her chest, she looked a lot like a guy. This would be difficult. Alaina prayed that she could pull it off.

Alaina was nervous. She stared at the man in front of her as he pushed a pile of paper closer towards her. He gave her an annoyed stare.

"Just fill out the paper." He said, his tone as annoyed as his expression. Alaina glared at him under her helmet. She picked up the pen he handed to her and read through the paper.

Alright. She encouraged herself. She pulled off the cap and read the paper over. First one seemed easy enough. Her name. Knowing she couldn't use her real name, particularly her last one, she had to think up something quick. Thinking back to one of her friends, a nerdy red-head in her town, she picked the name James Stevens. Both his first and last name seemed easy enough for her to remember. She moved onto the next part.

Her age. She almost smiled at that. She had the perfect age, what the old man from the shooting range always said she looked, twenty-three. Normally, it bugged her. But now, she was greatful to him. She read the next line.

Her date of birth. That one didn't seem right. What, was Shinra going to throw her a birthday party or something. Alaina shook her head and wrote down her real birthday. It didn't matter, right? Besides, it would be easier for her to remember if she was ever asked for some strange reason. She moved down to the next one.

Her place of birth. That one may be harder. She didn't want to run into anyone that had might disprove her on her being in whatever town she chose. She then remembered her conversation with Zack. If she remembered right, he was from a town called Gongaga. Hoping she was right, and that Zack wouldn't rat her out, she wrote down Gongaga and moved on.

Her gender? Now that couldn't be right. She knew for a fact that Shinra didn't hire any women for SOLDIER. It must have been some kind of trick. She circled the 'male' option and moved on.

Her background. She looked up at the man, nervous again. He eyed her for a moment before turning his eyes back to the computer in front of him and typing whatever it was he was typing. Alaina turned her eyes back to her own problem. After a moment or so, she decided to leave it blank. She would come up with something if it called for it, when it called for it. She moved onto the next one.

It took a while, about fifteen minutes, but she finally finished filling out the paper. She made sure to remember each and every thing she put down, though most of them she managed to relate to something in her past so that they were easier to remember. She handed the man back the papers, trying her best to keep her hands from shaking. She was nervous, that was for sure. The man took the papers and scanned over them. He frowned, making Alaina's heart rate speed up. He handed her back the papers and tapped the bottom of the last page.

"You forgot to sign your name." He said, dully. Alaina breathed a sigh of releif, though she masked it as a huff. She pulled the paper closer to her and looked it over. Maybe she could take this chance to read it over again, to keep it fresher in her memory. The man, however, didn't feel the same way. He stuck out the pen towards her, that annoyed look on his face again.

"Are you going to sign it or what?" He huffed. Alaina glared at him under her helmet.

"I'll sign when I want to sign. Don't push me!" She exclaimed, using a deeper voice than usual. She took the pen from him and signed off the name she'd chosen. She pushed the papers back toward him roughly. He man huffed quietly and took the papers. He set them on his desk and pointed down one of the hallways.

"Go down the hall and on your left you'll see the general's office." He pulled out some more papers, quickly wrote something down on them and handed them to Alaina. "Give these to him. He'll tell you where he's going to assign you." He shoved the papers into her hand before turning back to the computer in front of him, completely ignoring her. Alaina huffed and stomped off in the direction he said.

It wasn't hard to find. The first door, a dosen feet down, had a plate with the name 'General Sephiroth'. She looked at the name for a moment. She'd heard it before. After a moment of staring, she figured it out. He brother had mentioned him before.

"He's such a waste of good looks and toned muscles." She said, quoting her brother. However, she also knew what he could do. Her brother had come home once with a broken arm and some cracked ribs. Suddenly, Alaina felt even more nervous. She adjusted her brother's sword on her back, bound in white cloth to keep it hidden. The cool feel of the necklace against her skin comforted her some. There was no way Alaina could gather the courage to go inside without her brother's 'parting gifts'. With a deep breath, she put on her best poker face and walked inside Sephiroth's office.


	3. Meeting Seph and 'Geal

This is the next chapter of my story for the muse bunny contest. All words and phrases used. Please Read and Review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7.

Thanks to xxDarkAssassinxx.

Enjoy~

* * *

He was sitting at his desk, staring down at paperwork piled on his desk. Standing in the doorway, she looked him up and down. As her brother had told her, he had long silver hair. However, she didn't know it was as beautiful as it was. His long bangs framing his face while the rest of his long hair fanned out behind him. His toned chest was exposed with the exception of the twin belts that crossed the front of his chest and the black leather around his middle. From what she could see from where she was, Alaina noticed that his pants were black leather as well. His skin was pale and creamy. His eyes were a bright green, from what Alaina could see, though he was still looking down at his paperwork.

Figuring that was all she would be able to dee for the moment, and getting embarrassed at the fact that she was looking at his shirtless chest, Alaina looked around at the rest of the room. Other than the desk and the two chairs in front of him, there was only a black leather couch to her right against the wall across from the desk. She noticed a long black leather coat and a long katana style sword sitting on the couch. No doubt, they belonged to the general. The walls were a dull grey, a bit similar to her hair. The carpet a worn, dark blue. On the desk, other than the paperwork, was a computer, a marble obelisk, and an empty fruit bowl. To her, the obelisk and fruit bowl seemed out of place. Maybe they were gifts from one of his fan girls or something. She'd heard he had a lot of them. Now that she'd seen him, she could kind of see why.

"Are you just going to stand there with the door wide open?" Came a deep and seductive voice, pulling her from her thoughts. Alaina looked up at him suddenly, wide eyes hidden behind her helmet's visor. Finally, his pen stilled and he looked up at her. His pupils were very cat like. How narrow they were, how they seemed to peer into her soul, Alaina found them . . . alluring. He looked her over, his green eyes seeming to pierce through the armor of her SOLDIER uniform. Alaina shifted, uncomfortly, from one foot to another, though she tried to keep herself from twirling her thumbs, since that was more of a nervous habit for girls and she was trying to act like a guy. Sephiroth nodded to the seat across from him.

"Have a seat." He said, his voice deep and annoyed. Alaina gave a sharp nod and walked over to the seat the he indicated. She sat down, trying not to do it too gently like she would normally. The entire time Sephiroth's sharp eyes followed her like a hawk. She clutched the papers in her hands and stared at him, under her visor, nervous under his sharp stare. After a moment of silence with him staring at her, he reached out a black-gloved hand to her. Alaina stared at it for a moment. He glanced down from her face to the paper in her hand before returning back to meet her hidden eyes with an annoyed stare.

"Are you going to give me the paperwork?" He asked, stretching his hand out a little more, though it was subtle. Alaina's blue eyes widened and she almost smacked her head, though she stopped herself from it.

"Oh wow. I can't believe I forgot about that. I'm really sorry." She said, trying to keep her voice an octave low enough. She handed them over to him, trying her best not to blush at her momentary cluelessness. She let out a low chuckle and scratched the back of her head, under the helmet as best she could. As she did, she noticed that one of her hairpins was coming loose. Being as subtle as possible, she adjusted the hairpin so it held her hair better. Luckily, Sephiroth, who was now looking down at her papers, didn't seem to notice.

Alaina put her hands on her knees as she watched his look over the papers, trying her best not to lace her fingers together as she normally did when she was nervous. After about 15 or so nervous minutes, Sephiroth placed the papers back on his desk and looked back up at her.

"You check out." He said calmly. Alaina almost let out a sigh of relief, though she reframed from doing so. Sephiroth eyed her for a moment. Alaina squirmed a little under his gaze. Lucky, Sephiroth turned his gaze away and stood. He walked pass her and over to his couch. Alaina managed to hold back the hot blush that threatened to breach the surface as she diverted her eyes from his pale, sculpted chest. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he picked up his coat and put it on. He turned to her again.

"Come with me. I'm going to station you under 1st class Angeal Hewley to begin with. Since we don't know where you will be of the most use." Alaina was a little offended by that comment but held her tongue. She'd heard about Angeal. He was Zack's mentor. Sephiroth walked out the door, not even worrying much about Alaina following or not. Naturally, she did follow him. He walked down the hallway toward the elevators. He pressed the 'up' button on the wall and waited for the elevator to come meet them.

It took around fifteen minutes to get where they needed. Alaina wasn't really paying attention. She simply followed the general and stared off into space, going through the history and other stuff she'd put on her resume. So far, she was doing pretty well. She didn't forget anything so far.

Dazed, she didn't notice Sephiroth had stopped till she ran into his stilled back. Alaina stumbled back a few steps and looked up at the general. He only glanced down at her. He turned back to the door in front of him and opened it. Walking through, Alaina followed close behind him.

The moment Alaina walked into the room, she heard the sounds of fighting. Alaina looked around and spotted the two that were fighting. One was Zack. The other was an older looking version of him. The way they were fighting together, and the fact that Zack was losing, she figured that he was Angeal. The two of them stopped fighting when they heard Sephiroth and Alaina come in. Zack and Angeal both looked at them.

"You're out of breath Zack. That injury still taking it's toll on you?" Sephiroth said, his tone mocking. Zack's face flushed more so when he heard that. His arms waving wildly.

"What? You expected me to break into song and dance right away? Recovery is a delicate matter!" He exclaimed, his breathing still labored.

"I'm working on it!" Angeal chuckled at that. Alaina noticed that Sephiroth was smirking as well. Alaina gave a small laugh herself, though she covered it as best she could as a cough. Zack started pouting. Alaina swore that if he really were a puppy, his ears would be laid back cutely against his head and he would have the cutest, watery puppy dog eyes. Angeal gave the 2nd class a pat on the back.

"Come on Zack. We're just playing." Angeal said, trying his best to hold back his laughter, though he still wore a broad grin on his face. Zack turned away, still pouting cutely.

"Leave me alone." He said quietly, though there was a hint of playfulness in his voice. Angeal gave Zack another pat.

"Come on. No need to get upset over something so silly." He walked in front of Zack, placing both hands on his shoulders. Angeal's broad back and shoulders blocked Alaina's view of Zack.

"What part of 'Leave me alone' did you not understand?" She heard him asked, a mocking edge to his voice. Sephiroth beside her scoffed, folding his arms over his chest.

"Well well. This is the last thing I expected to hear from you." Sephiroth said, clearly mocking him. Zack looked over Angeal's shoulder at the silver-haired 1st class and glared, immaturely sticking his tongue out. Again, Sephiroth scoffed at him. Zack huffed. He reached behind him and grabbed a knife from a weapons rack that Alaina had failed to notice. He threw the knife over Angeal's shoulder. Said person knocked Zack's hand in an effort to dislodge the weapon before it was thrown. Instead, he managed to change the course of the weapon so that it was headed for Alaina instead of its intended target, Sephiroth. Thinking quick on her feet as the object was suddenly flying towards her face, Alaina pulled her brother's sword off her back in one swift, easy motion. With the white bind that was once bound twice across her chest now flying hazardously around her body, while the rest of the binding remained in place, Alaina deflected the knife using the broad side of her brother's blade. With a metallic 'thunk', the knife embedded it's self into the floor a few feet to her right, in between Sephiroth and herself.

The three men stared at her, a mix of emotions on Zack and Angeal's faces, though Sephiroth only peaked a slender eyebrow at her. Alaina shrugged and replaced the blade back across her back. She looked up at Zack. His mouth was ajar and his puppy dog eyes were a little wider.

"What?" She asked, though she made sure to keep her voice sounding as manly as she could manage without sounding fake. Zack's shocked expression turned into a broad grin.

"What is the difference between you and me? I'll tell you what that is! You're a 3rd class, and I'm a 2nd class." Alaina's eyes widened and her eyebrows crooked in confusion.

"Huh?" She exclaimed, again trying to keep her voice down an octave or two than normal. Angeal shook his head.

"He means to say that that was a pretty nice move you did there and your reaction time was good." Angeal paused for a moment and frowned. "I think." Zack nodded to confirm his explanation. Alaina shook her head, wondering how in Gaia Angeal could have guessed that from the confusion that she'd heard coming from the 2nd class's mouth. Sephiroth stepped a little closer to Alaina and placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked at the other two.

"This is James Stevens. He's one of the new SOLDIER recruits. I thought he might need to train under you for a while, Angeal. Just until we find somewhere where he's actually useful." With that, Sephiroth shoved her in their direction. Angeal nodded and clasped her on the shoulder.

"Alright, James. Let's start our training." Alaina stared at him for a moment. When he made no move, other than staring at her, her eyes grew wide.

"You mean now?" She said, her voice going higher in pitch than she intended. Angeal didn't seem to pay it much notice, luckily.

"Yes, now. Show me what you've got kid." He said, taking a few steps back and redrawing his blade. Alaina did the same with her own, hoping she could stand her ground against him. He was first class after all. Than again, if she failed with her brother's sword, which she had little training with-or training with any sword for that matter- she could always use her gun that was hidden discreetly under her clothing. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Zack and Sephiroth moved away to make room for the two of them. Alaina gulped and turned back to Angeal.

"You ready kid?" He asked. Alaina gave him a small nodded.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She muttered, as she raised the sword, hoping she would be able to put up enough of a convincing fight without alerting them to her, very girly, style of fighting.


	4. Duel mishap

**Next chapter~ And it's pretty early this time! Please Read and Review.**

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**xxDarkAssassinxx**

**Light Envy**

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* * *

Before Alaina could blink, Angeal was in front of her, his sword raised high. Thinking quick on her feet, Alaina rolled to the side, rolling around to Angeal's back and following with a slash to his back with her -still covered- sword. The 1st class turned swiftly and blocked her attack easily with his sword. Alaina pressed a little harder against his sword and pushed back, using the extra momentum to jump back further, holding her sword out in front of her, ready for Angeal's next attack.

Angeal gave her a small smirk and came at her again, as fast as he did last time. This time, however, he swung around behind _her_. The moment Alaina realised what he was doing, she dove forward in another roll. As she was rolling, she heard the sound of him coming after her. Moving onto her knees, she spun around quickly and used her sword to shield her body from his downward strike. Though there was quite a power to it, she wasn't met with much resistance. Angeal must have been holding back. A part of her got angry at the thought of someone holding back, mostly because most do so because she's a woman. Even though she knew that couldn't be the reason, she was still determined to fight with all of her power.

As if he could see the flame spark in her eye, Angeal's eyes widened a fraction. His expression of shock was quickly replaced by a small smirk. He This time, Alaina rushed at him. bringing her sword across in a backhanded, horizontal strike going up. Unfortunately for her however, when compared to Angeal, she was like treacle, molasses, a snail! She was far too slow. Faster than she could comprehend, Angeal blocked her strike and, with a simple flick of his wrist, he disarmed her.

Propelled by the force of her attack, Alaina stumbled and fell forward. Angeal caught her easily before she could hit the ground. Though he was ready to put Alaina in a choke hold, he paused.

_He's light! _Angeal thought. He stared at Alaina, his eyes rather wide. Alaina, noticing Angeal's hesitation, grabbed his arm and twisted it away from her, managing to free herself from the circle of his arms. She jumped forward, managing to pass him without getting caught again. Angeal snapped out his momentary shock and spun around as well. As he did, he was met with the barrel of Alaina's 9mm. Alaina smirked.

"I guess I win." She said, keeping her voice deep. Angeal stared at her for a moment before he made his move. He turned to left suddenly and using his sword to disarm Alaina once again. Seeing as her reaction time was too slow, Alaina's gun went flying out of her hand as well, landing somewhere to her right.

This time, Angeal didn't hesitate. He thrust at her with his sword. It was pretty clear to most watching that he had no intention of actually running Alaina through. However, to her, it seemed as if that was exactly what he was going to do. In a moment of pure instinct, Alaina stepped forward, while also stepping to her right, and grabbed his sword at the handle. Gripping it with both hands, she gave it a good twist, making Angeal's hands twist painfully at the same time, and shoved it towards him. Angeal stumbled back a little and loosened his grip on the sword.

Alaina saw the opening and pulled the handle towards her with one hand and pushed the blade towards Angeal with the other. As she had hoped, he released the sword. Alaina jumped back a few feet and held the sword in front of her. Angeal gave her a small smirk as he drew his spare sword. It was a lot smaller than the one Alaina had now. She gulped. With the speed Angeal already possessed combined with the lighter sword and the fact that she was struggling to hold the sword in her hand even with both of her hands, she was a serious disadvantage.

Just as this thought passed through her mind, Angeal came at her again. Alaina struggled to get his sword up in time to block his attack, though she managed somehow. Alaina looked to around her quickly. Her gun was too far away, right in front of Sephiroth, and her sword was a ways behind Angeal. She wouldn't be able to get to it before he did. She turned her gaze back to Angeal, thankful it her eyes were hidden from his sight.

Again, he came at her with another attack. And again, she managed to, just barely, block the attack.

_This thing is to big and heavy!There's even a huge hole in it and it's still too heavy! _Alaina shouted in her mind, grinding her teeth together. As she thought that, she got an idea. As Angeal lunged at her with another thrust, she moved to the side quickly, and lowered her sword enough so that Angeal's went through the hole at the base. Using all of her strength, she twisted the heavy sword, retching Angeal's from his hand and sending it in the same direction as her gun.

Not wasting a moment, Alaina drove her stolen sword into the ground and used it, along with the momentum of her twist, to throw a high kick at Angeal. Acting quickly, the 1st class moved to the side and grabbed her ankle. Alaina gasped as he tried to pull her away from the sword. Alaina tightened her grip and used the sword to support her full weight as she used her other foot to kick Angeal's shoulder. The impact jarred him enough to make her let go of her other foot.

With the momentum of the kick as well as the fact that there was no longer anything to stop her, Alaina was basically thrown in the direction she'd been kicking. Again, Alaina gasped and tightened on the sword's handle. The metal groaned in protest but did not give way to the strain, holding the sword in place. This, however, was un unfortunate thing for Alaina. Her tight grip refused to give as well. This made the energy throw her against the sword it's self. She was lucky. She only hit the blade with her arm, though it resulted in a long, deep, painful cut down the length of her right arm. The rest of her body collided with the hard metal of the broad side of the blade. Her head ended up striking the handle, though her helmet protected her well enough.

Alaina groaned as pain coursed through her body, but managed to stand again, supporting her body with the sword, now deeply embedded within the metal floor. She looked up at Angeal, readying herself to fight again, but he just stood there, staring at her a moment before his gaze flickered to her arm. Alaina, taking the hint that he wasn't going to fight anymore, inspected her arm. The blood was flowing out faster than any wound she'd had before. It was so deep, she could see spots of white if she looked hard enough. Angeal was at her side when she looked up, Sephiroth and Zack as well.

"Come on. We need to get him to the hospital wing." Angeal stated, walking out of the training room while putting pressure on her wound. Alaina winced at the pain but said nothing, unsure if she would be able to keep her voice deep enough. She walked with Angeal and Zack, letting the 2nd class support her. Sephiroth stayed behind, which Alaina didn't blame him for. A 2nd class and 1st class would be enough to take her to the hospital wing of the Shinra building. She didn't know they had one but, when she thought it over, it made sense. She looked down at her arm again. Angeal's large hand, which was still pressed against her wound, was now covered in her blood. Alaina turned her head away, though she did it slowly, finding the sight both disgusting and intriguing at the same time.

It didn't take too long for them to get there. It was up two floors from where they had been and only about a dozen doors from where the elevators were. Alaina winced at the memory of her brother that invaded her mind. Normally, she would try to stay away from the place, but when she was nearly bleeding to death and getting dizzier by the minute, she found it easier than she would have thought to let herself be led into the ER part of the wing. The moment the nurses assigned there saw her, as well as the company she was keeping at the moment, she was surrounded by them and her wound was poked and probed at for some time before anyone actually treated her.

When they finally finished, she had stitches going up and down the length of her arm, holding the skin together to help it heal correctly. Her entire arm was also covered her arm, making it hard for her to bend it, not that she was really planning on it, considering the pain.

When they'd stitched her up, they were kind enough to remember to numb it up first. At the same time, they'd also stuck her with a syringe filled with a green liquid. They wouldn't tell her what it was but they gave her a warning to tell them if she felt strange and to come in right away if anything happened. When they finished with her stitches, and told Zack and Angeal that she would be fine and just needed a little rest, they moved her to a room with four hospital beds inside. One of them was occupied by a red headed man and his black friend, who was as bald as a monk. They didn't notice her as the nurse led her to her bed and attached an IV to her, filled with blood. They'd told her that she had lost a lot of blood, which would explain why she was dizzy and tired. She layed down on top of the covers and listened to the other two. The redheaded one was kind of loud.

"I don't know why Elena was so upset!" The red haired one exclaimed. The bald guy looked at him, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses.

"Probably because you had to rifle through her stuff, Reno." He muttered, his voice so low that Alaina had to strain her ears to hear it. The redhead, Reno, threw up his hands.

"That doesn't mean that she needs to throw a vase at me!" He exclaimed. Alaina winced. She didn't really feel like listening to a bunch of yelling. His friend seemed far more quite, which Alaina liked at the moment.

"She could have thrown you in a cellar or something instead." She heard him mumble. Reno didn't seem to hear him.

"Still! She didn't have to throw all those things at me! I was lucky the vase was the only thing that hit me!" The bald man sighed.

"You didn't have to use that snide remark either, Reno." He commented. Again, Reno threw his hands up.

"She said 'Look at all the blubber. I disgust myself.' What did you want me to do? It was there for me to come up with a comeback!" He shouted, louder than before. Alaina groaned.

"I would do anything to get some peace and quiet around here. Anything, I swear!" She moaned, covering her eyes with her good hand. This seemed to catch the loudmouth's attention.

"Listen carefully. Can you hear that?" Alaina removed her hand from hand from her eyes and looked over at Reno, who was cupping his ear comically. He turned to her, ready to make a snide remark, when he spotted her arm. His eyes widened and he let out a low whistle.

"Woah! What happened to you?" Alaina looked up at the titled ceiling above her.

"Why is it that you're so energetic while I feel like dying?" She mumbled, too low for the other two to hear. The redhead got up after a while, when Alaina didn't answer him, and walked over to her bedside.

_I'm surrounded by morons. _Alaina thought, when Reno didn't get the hint and came over to her even though she didn't want to talk.

"Come on babe. Say something." Alaina's head turned to stare at Reno, wide eyes hidden behind a dark visor.

_No no no! I can't be found out so soon!_

**

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**

For the word Treacle, I used the meaning similar to syrup.


	5. Zack

**This is the next chapter. Please Read and Review. **

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**xxDarkAssassinxx**

**-Angelus-Delapsus-**

**Cristiline Ice**

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Alaina tried to think quickly, trying to get her thoughts together before it was too late to respond. It was a good things she was a good actress. Raising her fist as if she were angery and tightening the muscles in her jaw.

"You calling me a girl?" Alaina asked, her voice full of false anger. Judging from Reno's reaction, she'd fooled him. His partner, who was moving over to her bedside, wasn't as convinced. She watched the sunglasses guy carefully, hoping he didn't figure anything out. From behind his shades, he seemed to study her. She turned to her attention back to Reno when he cleared his voice.

"S-sorry about that buddy. But man, you look too skinny to be a guy." Alaina glared at him through her visor. After a moment, she let it slide with a shrug.

"I guess it's an enigma." She mumbled, clearly ticked. Reno didn't even flinch. He moved over to Alaina and sat next to her on the bed. Alaina tried not to move away from him, figuring a normal guy wouldn't have problems with another guy simply sitting next to them.

"So, are you new to SOLDIER?" He asked. Behind her visor, Alaina lifted an eyebrow in question. Remembering he couldn't see her, however, she nodded slowly.

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?" She asked, her tone defencive. Reno just shrugged and moved onto his next question.

"How'd you get that yo?" He asked, pointing to her arm. Alaina glanced at it, having put the pain in the back of her mind and forgotten about it. She looked back up at Reno.

"I was fighting Angeal." She answered, her voice a low monotone. Reno's eyes widened slightly. Alaina noted that his eyes were a bright green like Sephiroth's but they were different. Honestly, she preferred Sephiroth's eyes.

"You got into a fight with Angeal? I didn't think anything could piss that guy off yo! What'd you do?" Again, Alaina quirked an eyebrow. She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off.

"He was sparring with him Reno." Came a familiar voice from the door. All three of them looked towards the open door to see Zack standing there with a large grin on his face.

"Oh hey Zack. You know the noob?" Reno asked, jerking his thumb in Alaina's direction. Zack nodded as he walked into the room.

"Sort of. I was sparring with Angeal when Sephiroth walked in with the newbie here." He said. After a moment though, Zack nodded his head in the direction of the way he came, looking at Reno and the guy with sunglasses.

"Shouldn't you two go back to work if your done?" He said, a hint of something in his voice that Alaina couldn't pin. The other two looked at each other before getting up and heading out the door. Zack stared as the two of them left. When he was sure they were gone, he turned abruptly toward Alaina, his hansom face creased with anger. He made his way to Alaina's bed side. With a quick yank, he ripped off Alaina's helmet, dislodging the pins that held her hair along with it, making her charcoal hair tumble lose, splaying across the pillow under her head. Maybe a hairnet or something would have been better. She looked at Zack with wide eyes.

"What were you thinking?" Zack exclaimed, throwing his hands up. Alaina only gave him a nervous laugh.

"Come on Zack. You need to cool off a bit." She said, using her normal voice.

"Do you know what they would do to you if they caught you?" Zack exclaimed. Alaina flinched. She'd thought of that, but she wanted to find more out about her brother and ignored the risk.

"Alaina. I know you're feeling lost and lonely but THINK NEXT TIME!" Zack practically shouted the last part. Outside, Alaina could hear the nurses' chatter coming closer. She looked at the door, her eyes wide and frightened. Thinking quickly, Zack closed the curtain around her bed, hiding her from other's eyes.

"Cover your head." He muttered to her. Alaina did as he said, frightened of what would happen if the nurse had found her. She heard the muffled voices from under the covers. The nurse said something about painkillers and asked about the curtain being closed. Alaina didn't listen to their rest of their conversation, her mind drifting back to what Zack had said. She was lost and lonely. Thinking back, when her and her brother had been taken in by their aunt and uncle, she didn't think she could have survived without her brother. She hated it there.

_

* * *

_

"You're like a baby who gets left at someone's doorstep. Nobody ever wants them or wishes for them."

_"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please auntie, I didn't mean to break the plate." Her aunt pulled Alaina up by her hair and slapped her across the cheek, her long nails dragging across her skin. _

_"Shut up!" Her aunt screached. She threw little Alaina into the basement where she landed next to her brother. He was beat up and bloody for trying to defend her. Her uncle stood next his wife with an evil, sadistic, grin on his face. He was the one that had beaten her brother. _

_"Maybe locking you down here will teach you a lesson." She hissed. She then slammed the door closed, sending the two of them into utter darkness. Alaina wasn't used to the dark and she was sure she never would be. The entire time they were down there, which could be a few days to a few weeks, Alaina would cling to her brother and cry. She was a lot younger than Dwyane but she would take care of his wounds as best she could. She always felt bad that he would protect her but she knew that she wouldn't be able to survive without him._

* * *

"Hey!" Zack's voice broke through her thoughts. She felt the covers being pulled off her head. She looked up at him. He didn't seem as angry as before.

_That was fast._ She thought, though she she didn't voice it. Zack nodded over to the table by her bed. There was two little paper cups. Probably pills.

"Take them now. Then rest. Since you're already caught up in this, I guess I can only help." He sighed as Alaina took the pills and swallowed them with the water next to it.

"Sephiroth said he'd come pick you up for training and that you'd just have to suck it up. I'll wake you before he gets here." Alaina nodded slowly.

"Why Sephiroth, though. I thought Angeal was suppose to train me." Zack shrugged and held up his hands.

"I have no idea." He muttered, shaking his head. Alaina, though she still wondered, shrugged her shoulders and let it slide.

"Oh yeah! And the nurse said that the pills might make you a little loopy." He warned, a large grin on his face. Alaina nodded, seemed fair enough. She was happy to see that Zack wasn't really mad at her anymore. He was probably the only friend she had at the moment.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it can't be all that bad." She joked, hoping to lighten his mode even more. Zack laughed and gave her a small smile.

* * *

15 minutes later:

"Row row row your boat, gently down the stream, merrily merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream." Alaina sang, rocking back and forth. She looked over at Zack with a big grin on her face.

"Hey hey! Is it row your boat or row your moat." At that, she started giggling uncontrolably. Zack threw his hands up to cover his ears.

"Oh, good lord. She's lost it!" Zack exclaimed, as Alaina continued to sing her song. Suddenly, she stopped singing. Zack sighed and uncovered his ears. He looked up at her and noticed that she was tugging at her hair.

"Do you know how long it took me to make this?" She asked, tugging at her hair again. Zack sighed and shook his head. She tugged on her hair some more, though she followed him with her eyes.

"My gosh, girl. Get a hold of yourself!" He exclaimed, shaking her by her good shoulder. She stared at him for a long moment, completely silent.

"WELTER!" She exclaimed. She then started giggling uncontrollably again. Zack couldn't help but smile at that. It was rather cute. He sat down next to her and pat her on the head.

"Come on, Alaina. Calm down. Sephiroth might be-"

"Sephiroth what, Zack?" Came a deep voice from the door. Both Zack and Alaina, now snapped out of her loopy state, looked over at the doorway with wide eyes. There stood the General himself.

_Oh crap!_

_Her aunt hissed, grabbing young Alaina by her hair. Little Alaina gave a small cry at the pain and tried to pry her hands and get away from her aunt, knowing what was coming next. _


	6. He knows!

**This is the next chapter of Fatal choice. Wow! This one took me way too long! . But I had no ideas! TT-TT Sorry this is not one of my best chapters and it's a little boring. I'm still working on filler chapters. Till I get that down, I hope the little sprinkle of humor helps. ^.^ Please Read and Review. **

**Disclaimer: Though I continue to forget to do this, I claim not right to Final Fantasy 7 or any of the characters within that are not my own OCs.**

**Thanks to: **

**xxDarkAssassinxx- Is this soon enough for you? ^.^**

**Cristiline Ice- I'm glad you liked that part. I'm not sure my little jokes and puns are as funny in this one but I hope you enjoy them as well. **

**Enjoy~**

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Alaina didn't even attempt to cover herself. It was clear by the way that Sephiroth was staring at her that he already saw her for what she was, a girl. She let out a sigh. Today just wasn't her day, clearly. Sephiroth turned his gaze to Zack instead and narrowed his eyes at the 2nd class.

"Zack? Do you want to explain to me what this girl is doing here dressed as a man and entering SOLDIER?" Sephiroth asked, a slight edge to his voice. Zack looked over his shoulder at Alaina and gave her an apologetic look. Alaina gave him a soft smile in return and nodded for him to go ahead. He nodded in return before turning back to Sephiroth.

"Well, you see. . ." Zack explained what happened with her brother and Alaina filled in the parts he didn't know, like how she wormed her way into SOLIDER. She didn't mention anything about why she did, hoping he would over look it. The entire time the two of them were explaining, Sephiroth was propped against the closed door with his arms folded, studying them. Alaina was a little intimidated by his stare but tried her best to keep her voice steady as she explained.

When they were done, they both stared at Sephiroth, waiting for him to say something. Zack looked a little worried, for her sake as well as for his. Alaina, on the other hand, simply studied Sephiroth carefully. She didn't know him well, she mostly knew what her brother had told her about him. He studied her as well, with a calculating gaze, as if he was weighing something in his mind. The way he stared at her with his bright green eyes sent shivers down her spine. She got goose bumps just from looking into them but she didn't move her eyes from his.

After a few moments of staring, Sephiroth broke off his gaze and turned around, heading for the door again. Without a word he opened it and moved to leave. Standing in the doorway, he paused.

"I won't say anything." He said, in a low voice. Both Alaina and Zack relaxed at this.

"However." He looked over his shoulder at the two of them. His face held no expression that Alaina could read. "I will not cover for you if you two get caught. I would be more careful in the future if I were you." With that, Sephiroth left. When the door closed behind him, Zack let out a low whistle. He turned to Alain and gave her a sheepish smile.

"That was a close one. He must really be fond of you to let you off like that." Alaina nodded slowly. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard she was sure Zack would be able to hear it.

"I don't think I'll ever forget this." She muttered, holding her hand over her heart and clenching the materiel of her shirt. She was, of course, committing this feeling to memory. She'd never felt this nervous and she didn't want to again. Her mind went to the reason Sephiroth was there in the first place. Now that Sephiroth knew she was a girl, she knew he was going to go easy on her. No that's something she just couldn't let happen. Besides, if Sephiroth started going easy on a new member of SOLDIER all of the sudden, others might start to wonder. She knew that he was a bit cruel in his training so if he suddenly wasn't. . .

Alaina's eyes widened and she threw off her blankets, flinching a little when she used her bad arm. She pulled the IV out of her arm and rushed to get out of the bed. Her feet were wrapped up in the blankets, however, she she feel forward. There was a loud thump as her collided with the titled floor. Zack tried his best to hold back his laughter at the cute little squeak she made as she fell. He held his hand over his mouth, trying to suppress the laugh but even that didn't help. He let out a soft chuckle. Normal people shouldn't have been able to hear it but clearly, Alaina did. She glared up at him.

"Stop standing there like an idiot and lend me a hand!" She yelled, holding out her hand for him. Zack reached down and pulled Alaina to her feet, untangling her legs from the blankets as she did so. Alaina brushed off her uniform as best she could and glared up at Zack. There was a bright red mark forming on her forehead. This time, Zack couldn't hold back his laughter. He held his sides as he did, his face turning red at the effort. Alaina sighed and gave him an irritated look.

"I think I've just lost hope for humanity." She muttered. She turned to her bed and picked up her helmet. "The male's side anyway." Zack grinned at her, his laughter dying down to a soft chuckle before he stopped completely.

"What? It was funny." He said, chuckling again. Alaina pulled her hair back up, using her good hand, and tried to pin it back up so that it wouldn't be seen well under her helmet.

"Times like this, I wish I never met you." She muttered, almost as if she knew him since childhood.

_Guess that's what happens when you pour your heart out to the first person with a shoulder and tissue box. _She thought to herself irritably as she managed to get her hair somewhat secure. Zack just gave her a warm smile and took her helmet from her, placing it on her head so she didn't have to use her injured arm.

"Thanks." Alaina muttered, adjusting it a little before making her way to the door. Zack, much to his puppy nature, followed after her. She didn't mind though. Despite her mutterings, she enjoyed his company and liked that she had someone she was able to talk to freely, at least about her being a woman.

"I knew it!" Came a cocky voice next to her as Alaina walked out. Reno jumped in front of her, grinning as if he'd just won the lottery. Alaina didn't flinch or look surprised, in fact, she looked a little angry.

"Again with this? I thought I told you that I'm not a woman!" She growled. Reno was about to come up with a comeback when an angry woman's voice echoed through the hospital wing.

"Where on Earth is he? I've searched almost everywhere for him!" Reno froze, his eyes wide. Alaina gave him a cruel smile.

"Looks like your girlfriend's calling you." She muttered, keeping her voice low to try and sound as manly as possible, as usual. The sound of high heels was coming closer and Alaina could see the shadow of a woman around the corner. Reno dashed inside the room Alaina was just in and closed the door behind him, just in time for the woman to come around the corner. She was a little on the short side with short blonde hair and narrow brown eyes, although they may just be narrow because she was angry. She walked up to the two of them, her high heels clicking as she went. Alaina glanced down at them. They were basic and black but they reminded her of her aunts clogs. She never could understand that woman's taste in fashion, or fruits for that matter. Really, who actually liked prunes?

"Have you seen Reno Zack?" She snapped, mostly out of her anger towards Reno, not Zack. The 2nd class shook his head and shrugged.

"Nope. Haven't seen him. Sorry Elena" He said. The woman, Elena, turned her gaze to Alaina. She eyed her for a moment before turning to her fully.

"How about you? He's got long red hair and wears goggles on his forehead." Elena said, motioning to her hair and head as if Alaina needed more that just the explanation. Alaina just stared at her for a moment before shaking her head.

"I'm sorry ma'am. I haven't met anyone fitting that description." She answered, her tone low and business like. Elena let out an irritated sigh before walking in the opposite direction she came. Alaina felt a little sorry for Reno and made a mental note not to ever piss her off.

The door gave a soft groan behind the two of them as Reno peaked his head out. He looked left and right before looking at the two of them. When Zack gave him the 'all clear' Reno sighed with relief and walked out. He placed his hands on Zack's and Alaina's shoulders and hung his head as if he were tired.

"Thanks you two. You saved my butt." He said. He grinned up at them and gave Alaina a hard pat on the back. Alaina just stood there and eyed him.

"Thanks for saving me, yo. I was sure you would have ratted me out." He confessed, giving her a cheeky grin.

"I thought about it." She said, in a monotone voice. Reno scratched the back of his head.

"Well, thanks anyway. Sorry about calling you a chick." He clasped her on the back once more before leaving in the direction Elena came from. She looked over at Zack, who just shrugged.

"Don't asked." Alaina nodded.

"Which way do we need to go to meet up with Sephiroth? Do you know?" Zack smiled and nodded, grabbing her arm and walking down another path, different from the one the blonde and redhead took.

"Just follow me!" He annouced cutely. Alaina couldn't help but smile. She was kind of glad Zack found her out. He was fun to be around and was happy she didn't have to lie to him.

Now if only she could say the same for Sephiroth.


	7. Genesis and a Mystery man

**The next chapter out. All words and phrases used. Please Read and Review. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. **

**Thanks to:**

**xxDarkAssassinxx**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

""Zack? Are you sure you know where we're going?" Alaina asked. They'd past the same flower vase five times already. She was starting to doubt his sense of direction. Zack looked over his shoulder at her with a fursurated sigh.

Of course I do!" He said, for the hundredth time. Alaina rolled her eyes and looked around, seeing if she might be able to find out where they were, find a sign or something. As she was looking around, she noticed a stunning lack of people.

_I wonder where everbody went. _Alaina thought, looking around some more, this time for people. Maybe, if she actually found someone, she would be able to ask them for directions. Then again, wasn't it that men didn't like asking for directions. Regardless, she didn't see anything so she kept following Zack, hoping they would finally get there, or at least find someone to point them in the right direction.

"Something smells incredibly fishy. . ." Zack said out of nowhere a few minutes later. They had now passed the vase eight times. Alaina raised an eyebrow at his comment.

"Do you mean the fact that there isn't a soul in site or the fact that we've passed that vase eight times?" She asked, a little impatiant. Zack stopped and looked over his shoulder, his eyebrows knitted together.

"What? No, no." He shook his head. "I mean fish. I think they're having it for lunch today. And lamb." He stuck out his tongue in disgust at the last part. As if on cue, Zack's stomach let out a low rumble. Alaina's eyebrow rose and she shook her head, laughing softly.

"Can we just forget this and pretend that it never happened?" Zack asked, pointing to his stomach, blushing slightly. Alaina scoffed and shook her head, cracking a small smile.

"Go on. Go get something to eat. I'll find Sephiroth on my own." She told him. Zack thanked her quickly and rushed off in the direction of, what Alaina hoped, was the cafeteria. Alaina laughed at the 2nd class and walked off in the other direction, looking for Sephiroth.

It took some time, but she finally found him. Through the window of the training area, she could see his long silver hair. He had his back turned to the window, talking with some man with short, brown-red hair. He wore a long, red leather, coat, similar to Sephiroth's. Under it, he wore a black leather outfit, similar to the SOLDIER uniform. In his hand, which remained limp at his side, he held a beautiful sword with a red blade and ornate black handle. Alaina made her way over to the door but paused before opening it, unsure of whether or not she would be interupting. As she was gathering her courage to go in, she heard a voice speak.

"I know you. I know the things you can do. But this... this isn't one of those things." The voice said. It was very poetic and seductive. It wasn't Sephiroth's. Considering she didn't see anyone else in the room, Alaina figured it was the man in red. Abandoning all thoughts of going in, Alaina instead, leaned closer to listen to their conversation, more than a little curious.

"I know you always told me not to do it, but this was a one-time kind of thing!" Sephiroth countered. Alaina frowned.

_What on Gaia are they talking about? _Alaina wondered, leaning a little closer to the door. She often found herself listening to conversations like this. One in particular came to mind.

_Kneeling over the door to the old attic she called her room, Alaina pressed her ear to the floor, listening to the sounds of her aunt and uncle. She clung to the duffel bag filled with her clothes and some food she'd managed to get. Her brother was still asleep in his bed. She had already packed his bag for him and was going to wake him up when she was sure that her aunt and uncle had gone to bed.  
_

_"Just get rid of them." Her aunt shouted. They were arguing about her and her brother and had been going at it for a few hours now. She was sure her aunt was drunk by now. By the sounds of it, she was under Alaina and a little to the right of the hideaway stairs, near the basin of water that sat in front of the mirror. She was probably looking at herself in the mirror. Alaina's aunt was a vain person, without a doubt. Alaina glanced over at her brother. He still had bruises and scratches from their last beating. _

_"You know that I promised my brother that I would take his kids in." Her uncle explained, sober for once. _

_"Come on Frank, give them to that man. He was particularly interested in the girl and her brother." Alaina frowned._

_"Are they talking about that man?" She whispered to herself. Earlier, around noon two or three days before, they had had a visitor. He was tall and pale. He had short, dark, hair and hansom features. She would have though him very hansom, if it wasn't for the way he looked at her. His dark eyes scanned over her like her was studying her, like she was some sort of lab rat. She was dirty from sleeping on the basement floor for days but, under his gaze, she found that she felt like a hobo. She was extremely selfconsious. _

_The worst of all, however, was the cruel, snake-like smile he gave her and her brother. He seem interested in them, but not in a way she felt loved. Not even close to such a gaze. Rather, he looked like he wanted to use her. She hid behind her brother the entire time the man was there, not wanting him to touch her. She got smacked for it, but she would rather have twenty more bruises than have him lay a finger on her. _

_"We can't give them to that man. Who knows what they'll do to the children." Surprised by the fact that her uncle was defending her, she leaned closer, intrigued. But she forgot that the door to her room was very old._

_Alaina let out a shriek as the rusted clasp broke and she went tumbling down onto the floor below, startling both her aunt and uncle. Needless to say, her plans of escaping with her brother were shaddered. _

Alaina shook her head to clear her mind. The two of them were talking softly now, making it hard for her to hear. She leaned closer and pressed herself against it.

Maybe she should have taken her memory more seriously.

The door, which was a simple push-to-open, kind of door, slid away from her body and sent her tumbling forward. She tumbled forward, landing on her butt in between the two men. Though her dark visor, she looked up at the two of them. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at her, not very happy with her at the moment. The other man, on the other hand, looked like he was amused by her sudden, and clumsy, entrance. Alaina gave them and sheepish smile and scrambled to her feet.

"Zack told me that you wanted to see me for training, Sephiroth sir!" She stammered, saluting him. Sephiroth's eyebrow rose higher, almost disappearing in his hairline. The man behind her chuckled. Alaina blushed, though her dark visor hid it from the two men's eyes.

"This is the new kid then?" The man asked Sephiroth. The silver haired warrior looked over at the other man and nodded. The red head looked over at Alaina and studied her. She surpressed the urge to shudder as the memory of the man passed through her mind. The man approached her till her was only a foot or two in front of her. He stared at her for another moment before her suddenly raised his sword and closed the distance between them, his sword leading.

Alaina let out a frightened gasp. Using her fear to let her instictual side take over, Alaina stepped forward and to the right. The man, expecting to meet with resistance, stumbled forward, having to catch his balance. Alaina spun around, her eyes wide, and faced the man. Her stance was ready, though she didn't draw her sword.

The man turned and launched himself at her again, coming at her with a horizontal strike. Alaina crouched down low to avoid it, sticking out her leg enough in the process to trip the man. Again, he didn't fall, only stumbled a little. He turned on his heals quickly and came at her again with a vertical strike, this time. Not having enough time to stand and move out of the way, Alaina threw her to her butt instead and rolled to her back. She high kicked with her left leg, just missing his sword, and sung her foot out wide. Her leg made contact with the flat of the blade, nudging it to the side enough to make it hit the ground next to her head.

The man, having put too much force behind his attack, probably expecting her to block with her sword instead of what she did, was now bent, almost in half, over her. Alaina wrapped her leg around the handle of his sword. She kicked at his face with her other foot. The man easily dodged the attack. Alaina moved her right foot so that it was pressed against his shoulder, and moved her left leg so that her foot was pressed against the handle of his sword. She put her hands on the ground next to her head and quickly shoved off of the man, throwing her body over her head and springing to her feet. She stood there, panting slightly, her stance wide and ready for any other attack he decided to throw at her.

"What was that for?" She yelled, almost forgeting to keep her voice low like a man's. The man in red straightened and removed his sword from the hole it made in the ground, a smile gracing his lips.

"You're right, Sephiroth, the kid's good." He said, purposely ignoring her question. Alaina frowned, irritated that she was being ignored. The man looked her up and down before meeting her gaze, a smirk replacing his earlier smile.

"For a girl that is."

* * *

**Ha ha. I'll leave it here~ Don't you just love cliff hangers? Xd Thanks for Reading. Please Review. **

**Thanks again DarkAssassin-chan. XD**


	8. Sephiroth's turn

**Next chapter out. I didn't check the deadline! I almost missed it. . Anyway, more fighting scenes. :P More Sexy Sephy and. . . Stalker Genesis? Please Read and Review. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy.**

**Thanks to: **

**Cristiline Ice**

**fictionalcharacterwish**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Alaina stared at the man, wide eyes hidden behind her visor. Her body was stiff and fear made her breathing, which was already labored from the fight, pick up. Someone placed their hand on her shoulder, making Alaina flinch. Alaina froze, mid counter, when the person spoke.

"Genesis." Sephiroth stated, his tone dangerous. The man, Genesis, gave Sephiroth a look of contempt before shrugging. He turned his gaze back to Alaina, a strange glint in his eyes. He reached out towards her and grabbed her hand, managing to catch her before she moved away from his touch. He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of her hand in a gentlemanly manner. Alaina blushed at the movement.

"Genesis." Sephiroth growled, his grip on Alaina's shoulder tightening. Both Genesis and Alaina looked up at the silver haired general. He was glaring down at Genesis, a dangerous glint to his eyes.

"He may have been your student before, but this one is mine." He said, his voice low. Genesis released Alaina's hand, taking his time as if to taunt him. He straightened and placed his free hand on his hip, smirking darkly at Sephiroth. He was about to say some kind of snide comeback, but Alaina interrupted him.

"You knew my brother?" She shouted, completely forgetting to deepen her voice. Genesis looked at her, a bit surprised at her sudden outburst. His expression of shock quickly faded into a small, mischievous, smirk.

"Yes. And he told me all about you. The daughter of a farmer and chocobo rancher. A bright and talented young girl. You loved that river near your house. You had a blue yo-yo when you were younger that you always played with when you were nervous or thinking something over. You have a scar on your arm from where you were attacked by someone with a metal pole." His smirk darkened a little. "You brother spoke of you often." Alaina was a little uncomfortable. He seemed to know too much about her. He felt like he was stalking her, just based on his words alone. She backed a little into Sephiroth's chest, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by either of the SOLDIERs. Genesis's smirk faded a little. He moved closer towards her and reached out for her. Alaina backed up further into Sephiroth's chest.

"Come now." He muttered, as if trying to sooth her. He brushed his fingers along her arm. Though it didn't hurt too badly, Alaina panicked when he brushed her bandaged arm. She tried to shrug his hand off her. Instead of takinging his hand off, he grabbed her arm with both of his own. Alaina flinched.

"Don't touch me! Just... get your hands off! Get them off!" She shouted, smacking his hands away and pressing her back firmly against her Sephiroth's back. Genesis's expression was shocked at first, making Alaina feel a little guilty, before it was replaced by a blank mask.

"Alright." Genesis moved towards the exit. Just before he left, though, he looked over his shoulder at her. "If you want to know more about how your brother died, though, come find me." With that, he left. Alaina stared after him, her eyes wide. She moved to rush after him but a strong, black leather clad, arm wrapped around her waist and held her firmly against a well toned chest. Alaina looked up in surprise at Sephiroth.

"W-what?" She stuttered, surprised by his contact. Sephiroth stared at her for a long moment before shaking his head.

"You are to stay here with me. You need to train. Just because it's your first day, doesn't mean you get off easy." He stated, his commanding voice hiding a hint of something. Something Alaina couldn't quite place. She hesitated for a moment before nodding. As much as she wanted to chase after Genesis right then and there, the way Sephiroth was looking at her and the tone of his voice left no real room for discussion.

"Good." He let go of her and stepped back, allowing her to turn and face him. Sephiroth summoned his sword into his left hand. Alaina made a mental note that he was left handed, hoping it would come in handy later. She pulled her sword from it's holder on her back and held it in front of her defensively, widening her stance. She didn't bother to remove the covering on the sword. Since this was only training, she didn't need to worry about slicing her enemy or anything else that might need the covering removed.

"Ready?" He asked, a slight smirk on his face. Alaina gulped quietly, a little nervous, but nodded. Before she could blink, Sephiroth was charging at her. Surprised, Alaina just managed a clumsy block. when their two swords met, the force was so powerful that it nearly knocked Alaina to her knees. She shoved herself back, managing to shove the 1st class back a step or two while, she managed to jump back a half a dozen feet.

_It doesn't look like he's holding back. _Alaina thought to herself, her grip on her brother's sword tightening. Sephiroth stared at her, smirking. Clearly, it was her turn to make the next move. She stared him down, evaluating the situation.

_He's faster and stronger than me! Can this day get any worse? . . .But, I do have the advantage of flexibility. _She thought to herself, smirking inwardly. She kicked off the ground with as much force as she could muster, trying to gain as much speed as possible, as she charged at him. Sephiroth smirked and shook his head softly. Alaina raised her sword over her shoulder, ready to come in with a horizontal strike. Sephiroth brought his sword up in a simple block, ready to take the force of her attack, but it never came, not the way he thought anyway.

At the last moment, Alaina jumped with as much power as she could muster, clearing his tall frame. She tucked herself into a ball as she flipped over him. She landed gracefully in a crouch behind him. She spun around on her heel, bringing her horizontal strike from earlier toward his hip. With Sephiroth's speed, however, he managed to block it.

Alaina stood quickly as Sephiroth brought his sword back for a horizontal strike of his own. Alaina bent backwards, bending in half and touching the ground behind her feet, dodging the attack. She kicked off the ground, putting her weight on her arms, and throwing her legs back to try and right herself. However, her arm, which throbbed painfully, gave way when her legs were straight in the air. She let out a cry as she fell to the side, her single arm not strong enough to support her body without warning.

Alaina seethed in pain as she looked up, trying to find her sword, which had been in her injured hand when it gave. Instead of her sword, she was met with the sight of a black boot. She looked up to see Sephiroth standing in front of her. He pressed the tip of his blade against her neck, forcing her to tilt her head back further.

"You done already?" He asked, a hint of a mocking tone in his voice. Alaina glared at him through her visor and ground her teeth together, both in pain and irritation. Alaina tried to reach for her gun, which was attached to a holster on her thigh, but was met with a sharp pain as Sephiroth slashed her, uninjured, arm. Alaina halted her movements as she continued to glare up at Sephiroth. Said 1st class returned his sword tip to her throat and pressed against the soft skin there.

"Stand." He ordered. Alaina gave him a sour look before raising to her feet, clenching her bandaged arm with her free one. Sephiroth smirked at her, claiming victory with the simple look. Alaina's temper flared. Quickly, she grabbed her gun from the holster and fired off a shot at the silver haired man's shoulder. Sephiroth, with his reaction time far better than hers, moved to the side a step and dodged the attack swiftly and gracefully. With just as much grace, Sephiroth was extremely close to Alaina, his head passing her shoulder. Alaina gasped as she felt the handle of Sephiroth's sword collide with her stomach. Her world started to spin.

"Goodnight." Sephiroth whispered into her ear as Alaina collasped against him. He caught her easily as her gun clattered to the floor and her vision and mind went black.

* * *

Alaina groaned as her eyelids flutter opened and she was returned to the real world. She looked around. She was in a bed, that wasn't hers. In a house, that she wasn't familiar with. And it was bloody hot.

"This heat is stifling." She grumbling, throwing off the covers and sitting up, wincing at the painful feeling of her bruised stomach.

"You're awake!" Came a hyper voice to her right. Alaina jumped and looked in the direction of the voice. She sighed when she reliezed it was Zack. He rushed to her side, his face breaking out into a wide, toothy, grin. Alaina couldn't help but smile back.

"Hi Zack. Where am I?" She asked, looking around. Zack's grin widened, Alaina could practically see his puppy tail swishing back and forth.

"My house!" He answered happily. Alaina raised an eyebrow.

"Your house?" She questioned. Zack bobbed his head up and down in a sloppy nod.

"Yep! Mi casa es tu casa.*" He said, spreading his arms out wide. Alaina smiled and shook her head.

"How'd I get here?" She asked.

"Sephiroth brought you to me when and asked me to take you to my house. But what happened? Sephiroth wouldn't tell me anything!" He exclaimed, his eye becoming big with worry, which Alaina thought was cute and added to his puppy-dog appearance.

"W-well. . . I- um. . ." Zack cut off her attempts at an explanation as he fired off more questions. She kind of wished she had duct tape, so she could tape his mouth shut and she could answer him. Most of his questions were a bit strange and it seemed to Alaina that, though they were phrased differently, he kept asking the same basic questions.

_Why does it feel like we're going in circles?_ She asked herself, laughing nervously at one of Zack's comments.

_At least you aren't really wandering around in circles like before._ A voice in her head muttered.

_Good point. _She told it as she yawned. She was a little tired. Zack noticed the movement and stopped talking. He blushed softly and chuckled.

"Sorry. You should get some sleep. You can stay here if you like." He told her. Alaina smiled and nodded.

"Thanks. That'll be nice." Zack smiled and gently laid her back on the bed, pulling the covers up over her and tucking her in, much like her brother use to. Alaina smiled, her eyes brimming with tears. Zack looked at her, a little startled by her sudden teary look.

"What's the matter?" He asked. Alaina shook her head.

"My brother just use to tuck me in like this, that's all." Zack gave her a small, understanding, smile and kissed her forehead.

"Go to sleep. I'll wake you up for work tomorrow." With that said, he got up and left, turning off the light as he left. Alaina snuggled closer into the covers and glanced at the window to her left. It was dark outside, as usual, but it was darker than normal. There was a soft pitter-pat on the glass as it started to rain. Alaina smiled as she closed her eyes, letting the sound of the rain lull her to sleep.

* * *

***Mi casa es tu casa: Meaning, My house is your house. (So I'm told. ^.^' )**


	9. The dream

_**Next Chapter~! A bit of gore in this one, just to let you know before hand.**_

_****__**Thanks to:**_

_**xxDarkAssassinxx**_

_**Christiline Ice**_

_**Enjoy~**_

* * *

_Alaina clenched her mother's crucifix in her tiny hand, making her way down the down the dark alley. She was going to get in trouble with her aunt and uncle if she was late, that's why she was taking the route through the alley in the first place. Regardless of her fear of upsetting her aunt and uncle, her heart continued to pound painfully in her chest, her breath continued to come in ragged gasps and her palms continued to sweat around her mother's crucifix. Her eyes darted back and forth in the dark, trying to see any movement in the darkness._

_A dark memory that seemed to haunt her every so often. It followed the same path every time. Continued down the same path, wearing the same short blue sundress. The same drunken old man came out of the side entrance to her left. She screamed at the same time the moment he reached out to grab her with the perverted look on his face that frightened her every time. He always grabbed her by her mother's necklace. The clasp always came undone as the two of them pulled in opposite directions. She fell into the same muddy puddle in the ground, staining her brand new sundress. She always ran with the same fear in her heart. Always stopped just outside her aunt's house and cried for the loss of her mother's crucifix. _

_It was always the same. _

_Or. . . So she thought. _

_Tonight, there something different. Something didn't seem right in the air around her. Even for a memory, this was all too real. The feeling of the cold November wind nipping at her soft, tan, skin. The sharp sounds of her patent leathers against the concrete alley floor. Her heart pounding painfully in her ribcage. _

_It was all too real. _

_"Ali." Came a whispery voice behind her. She turned abruptly, looking back in the direction she came. Nothing. Only the quiet road behind her, empty save for the occasional car. Her tiny hands clenched tighter on the necklace, the sides of the cross digging into her sweaty palms. She looked back ahead again, moving slowly towards the other exit._

_"Ali." Came the voice again, this time in front of her. Alaina frowned, a little worried at the pained sound of the voice. She squinted a little as a shadow came to stand in front of the alley's exit inn front of her. She couldn't see who, or what, the shadow was, but it was hunched over, as if in pain, clenching it's head. Alaina, her steps hesitant, made her way towards the figure, unsure whether it would harm her or not. Unsure whether or not to run. But something told her to go towards her. Maybe it was her curiosity, maybe it was something else entirely. Regardless, she made her way closer to the figure. _

_"Ali." The voice said again. This time, Alaina could tell that it was female. The figure moved towards the wall, supporting herself against it with one hand. Little Alaina continued her walk toward the shadow. She moved to her right, staying only as close to the figure as she dare, moving to stand in front of her. The figured looked at her and smiled, her face illuminated by the street light that was helping to hide her earlier. Little Alaina gasped. _

_The shadowy figure. . . was her. A version of her that was as old as she was in real life, maybe a little older. Part of her charcoal colored hair on either side of her head was pulled up in twin pigtails by black ribbons, the rest of her hair and her bangs left to hang loosely around her. She wore a long sleeved turtle-neck in a scarlet color, with a white cross just above her chest. Alaina had never seen it before, and she'd certainly never worn it. The same went for the black pleated skirt, that only reached mid thigh, the grey school-girl tights that almost met the hem of her skirt, and the plain black heels. She'd never been a fan of heels but, with the full outfit together, she looked like she was going on a date. _

_"Ali." The person who looked like her said, pulling Alaina from her thoughts. She looked up at the look alike's face and gasped. Trailing from between her fingers, still pressed against her head, a small trail of blood made it's way down the right side of her face, forcing the older her to close her eyes to keep from getting blood in it._

_Regardless of the blood or pain, the older version of her smiled down at Alaina. She reached out her hand, offering something to her. Alaina, a little hesitant, reached up to take what the impostor had to offer when. . . _

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

_Three loud gunshots went off. Little Alaina jumped and retracted her hand, spinning around in time to catch a glance of someone on the rooftop behind them before the disappeared over the lip. She looked down at herself. There was a few splatters of blood on her but not enough. She wasn't the target. _

_Alaina's eyes widened and she turned abruptly to her other self. Instead of the red of the long sleeved shirt she was wearing, she was met with the blood stained wall of the alley. Her eyes wide and full of shock and fear, she let them travel down, following the blood smear to the right. She followed it to the bloody locks of grey hair that stuck to the wall with the warm, sticky blood. She backed up, taking in the full view of herself with horror struck eyes. Her other self clenched her abdomen with a pale, bloodied hand. The top of her skirt was drenched in her blood, her stockings also spotted with the red drops. The blood was beginning to pool under her, coating the back of her exposed thighs with the red liquid. Her left hand lay limply by her side, Dwayne's crystal pendant resting in the bloody palm, now covered in her life's energy to the point that it looked more like a ruby than a clear crystal. _

_Little Alaina's wide eyes drifted slowly toward her other self's face, her heart beat painful in her chest. Her breathing picked up as she saw the trail of blood seeping out of the corner of her pale lips, still smiling softly. Her eyes traveled up even further and she saw it. There was no light in her single, open, eyes. An image of her brother flashed before her, the same light was gone._

_The girl was dead. _

_This fact hit Alaina hard and she screamed out in terror and confusion. _

_The girl was dead, she was dead. _

* * *

"Alaina!" Alaina jerked awake, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. Someone squeezed her arm. Alaina jumped and shrieked, moving away from the hand sharply. Unfortunately for her, the bed she was laying on wasn't long enough to allow such movement.

Alaina fell off the bed abruptly, smacking her back against the side table and toppling onto the rug.

"Hey! You okay!" Called a voice, jumping over the length of the bed to land by her side. She sat up abruptly and looked up at Zack.

"W-where's the other me? Sh-she's dying! Sh-she's dead!" She shrieked, her eyes darting around the room. Zack reached up and waved a hand in front of her face.

"Hey! Come on now. There's no one dying here." He said, trying to sooth her but his voice was strained with worry. Alaina shook her head, her dream still haunting her. It felt so real. There was no way it could just be a dream.

"No! The other me! She was in front of me! She was dying! Dead!" She told him, her breath coming in labored gasps as she started hyperventilating. Zack grasped her shoulders and gave her a firm shake.

_I think she just took a trip to Loony Town._ Zack thought to himself, staring into her eyes. They were wide with fright and brimming with tears. _But it looks like her dream really got to her. _

"Tell me what happened in your dream." He said softly, though there was a layer of command in his voice that left no room for argument. Alaina stared him straight in the eyes and took a deep breath before telling him about her dream.

Zack nodded and stayed quiet as she explained, listening to her explanation. He was frowning by the time she finished. Though her breathing was still labored slightly, Alaina was calmer. Zack stayed silent for a while. His eyes were on his hands and clouded over slightly, deep in thought. Alaina took this chance to look around at the room, which she didn't get to before.

The room didn't seem to fit Zack personality well. It seemed more like it would fit someone like Angeal. The bed she had been sleeping on was a wooden, four poster, bed. The quilt over it was well kept, but it was obvious by the faded coloring that it was rather old. The side table that she'd fallen against was the same light colored wood as the wood posters and headboard. It was small, but then again, so was the room. It's twin rested on the other side of the bed, a small lamp perched it in addition. Across from the bed, there was a writing desk, small stacks of paper, along with a quill pen which surprised Alaina, littered the top of it. Other than that, there were two doors, one to exit and one, she was sure, for his closet, and a window.

She looked back at Zack, who was now focused on her. He was wearing his SOLDIER uniform, his sword sitting comfortably on his back. He gave her a small smile and ruffled her hair.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure it was nothing. It may have to do with the fact that you're nervous about being in SOLDIER and you're still a little upset about you brother. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about." He told her, standing.

"Yeah. I'm sure you're right." She said, giving him a small smile. She tried to stand as well, but her legs gave out under her. Zack gave her a worried look and crouched down in front of her.

"You okay?" He asked. Alaina looked down at her legs, giving them a confused look.

"I can't move for some reason. Care to give me a hand?" She looked up at Zack, giving him a small smile. He returned the smile and nodded. He scooped her up in his arms and moved to leave.

"I said give me a hand, not carry me the whole way there!" She cried. Zack chuckled at her but complied, setting her down on her feet, keeping his hands near enough to her to keep her from falling over if she needed it. Her legs shook but held there own well enough for her to stand. She smiled up at Zack and nodded. He smiled and moved over to the door to open it for her. Alaina rolled her eyes, though she smiled at the action. As she took a step, pain pulsed through her back.

"Oww. My back is killing me." She mumbled, rubbing it gently. Zack laughed at her. She gave him a fake glare before lifting her chin high and walking out of the room as if she didn't hurt at all. The moment she crossed the threashold for the room, however, a man's whispery voice rang in her head.

_Somewhere, someday, you'll pay for what you did._ The voice echoed. _You'll regret what you did._Alaina frowned.

_Regrets? What are you talking about? I have no regrets._ The voice didn't respond.

"Come on!" Zack wined, pushing her out of the door. "We have to go now. You have a doctor's appointment today." Alaina paled.

She hated doctors.


	10. Waiting room

**And this is the next chapter~! XD Now, I just got the words and phrases the other day and I know it's unusually fast for me to get this out but I'm leaving early Saturday and I won't be back before the chapter would be due. I'm not sure if I'll have Internet so I wanted to make sure I got this chapter out. There is only one other person still going so I want to keep going. **

**Now! I have a deal for those of you that review, and people that have read the words and phrases on TMB will not be counted because it's cheating. Anyway, there are 5 words and 5 phrases that I have to use each chapter. I want you to try and guess them. Just put something along the lines of Words: 1. -insert word- 2. -insert word- 3. -insert word- 4. -insert word- 5. -insert word Phrases: 1. -insert phrase- (You get the point.) If you can guess three of the words or four of the phrases, I'll make a one-shot with a pairing of your choice, no m-rated ones. If you wish, I'll even do it in a different fandom, so long as I know it. There is no 'first one gets it' if you can guess four of the phrases or three of the words, I'll make the one-shot for you, regardless if someone else has already gotten it. Good luck~!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 and have never claimed rights to such an amazing series. **

**Thanks to: **

**xxDarkAssassinxx-Sorry in advance Dark. Please don't kill me. .**

**TheGirlInTheBackRound**

**Enjoy~!**

* * *

Alaina followed nervously behind Zack, who had a firm grip on her wrist, keeping her from running away. Zack had explained that, since she was part of SOLDIER now, she needed to be injected with mako. Unfortunately, at the word _injection_, Aliana had tried to flea, having a slight fear of needles. She'd tripped over a bath room, when she tried to hide in the bathroom, though, and Zack caught her. She struggled against him so, in the end, he got annoyed and threw her over his shoulder, grabbing her helmet off of a drum set near the entrance, which he set on her head. Somehow, the helmet managed to get in the right spot and hide her hair and face well.

But of course, that came with its own set of issues. For example, the fact that nearly everyone they passed while walking down the streets towards Shinra, gave them funny or strange looks, most thinking they were some gay SOLDIER couple or something. When passing an elderly man, Alaina was slightly amused when he gave them a wide eyed look before looking down at the flask in his hand and holding away from him, as if the alcohol was the reason he was seeing what he was seeing. Her embarrassment returned quickly, however, as a symphony of cat calls and whistles came from a passing group of teenage boys, some no older than Alaina herself. The group looked rather tipsy and were probably out partying the night before.

Luckily for Alaina, Zack put her down before they got to the gate, though he grabbed her wrist to keep her from taking off.

Now, they were entering a small waiting area for the medical bay. Zack sat her down in one of the many bland colored chairs and told her to stay put while he went up to the desk and informed the nurse of their arrival. Alaina glanced around the waiting room. It was bland and boring, much like the chair she was sitting on. There were random pictures on the wall that Alaina didn't really pay attention to, most of them in black and white anyway. Her eyes drifted to another person who was sitting in a chair in the corner, which she didn't notice earlier.

He was a SOLDIER, same as she was. His helmet was in his lap, his fingers drumming nervously on the top of it. She looked up at him, watching his bright blue eyes dart around the room nervously. His hair was a bit strange. It was blonde and spiky. It kind of reminded her of the Chocobo that use to follow her around the farm. The young hen was really attached to her, though it was nervous around everyone else, even her brother. The expression on his face was similar to her chocobo friend. The thought of her past and the fun times she had, she relaxed.

Her mind, once again, wandered to her past, remembering the first time she'd visted the doctor's.

_"Mama! Please don't make me go! I'm scared!" Alaina cried, clinging to the skirt of her mother's dress, tears brimming in her eyes as she stared up at the tall doctor, frightened. Her mother pat her back gently, crouching down to her level. She moved some of the hair back from Alaina's eyes and tucked it behind her ear. _

_"Now Alaina. You really shouldn't fear this man. He's not here to hurt you." Her mother soothed softly. Alaina sniffled and looked up into her mother's eyes. _

_"B-but. . . I'm still scared." She whimpered. Alaina's mother smiled at her, leaning in close to whisper into her ear._

_"Don't show that fear, honey. If you don't show them that fear and stay calm, you'll be able to see with clear eyes. You're scared by what you don't know. If you calm down and face your fear, you'll see that there really is nothing to worry about." Alaina stared up at her mother with hopeful eyes and gave a small, hesitant, nod. _

"Times like this I wish I listened to my mother. She was a really wise woman, my mother." Alaina said to herself softly.

"Did something happen to her?" Came a voice to her left. Alaina blinked a few times, startled a bit by the voice, and looked up. The man with the Chocobo style hair was looking at her, his blue eyes fixed on her with a soft gaze, though he still seemed to have a bit of nervousness in his system. Alaina gave him a small, sad, smile and nodded.

"She was killed, when I was younger." Alaina explained, her voice soft but deep enough to pass for a young man's. The man gave her an apologetic look. A soft blush crossed her cheeks when she noticed how hansom he was.

"Sorry. I was just wondering. The way you said it, well. . ." The man trailed off, looking away nervously. Alaina smiled.

"It's okay. It happened a long time ago. I've gotten over it." Alaina told him. _For the most part, anyway._She added mentally. The blonde smiled softly, understandingly. He stood, making his way over toward her and sitting down in the seat next to her.

"So. . . Do you know what they're going to do to us?" The man asked, changing the subject, rather smoothly in Alaina's opinion. She smiled and tried not to laugh.

"My friend said that they were going to inject something called Mako. He said it helps to improve our bodies." She explained. Blondie nodded.

"That really explains things quite a bit." He mused, scratching at his chin. Alaina raised an eyebrow at him. He continue stare off into space and Alaina realize that he couldn't see her.

"What do you mean? You've heard of Mako?" She asked. Chocobo head looked up at her, giving her a confused look.

"You haven't?" He asked in turn. Alaina shrugged.

"No. Guess it never came up." She said casually, though she was curious about the drug, or whatever it was, that was going to be put into her body.

"It's just a type of enhancement drug." The man said vaguely, not looking at her. Alaina stared at him, not satisfied with his answer. Though she was still more than a little curious, she shrugged it off and decided to change the subject.

"I never got your name, by the way." She mentioned. The man blinked his blue eyes and looked at her.

"Oh! Right! I'm Cloud. Cloud Strife." He said, his voice friendly. He stretched out his hand to her for her to shake. Alaina smiled.

"James Stevens." She said, happy she used the red-headed kid from her town's name since it was easy to remember. She took Cloud's hand and gave it a firm shake, smiling.

"James huh?" Cloud said, looking as if he was committing it to memory. Just then, the nurse came out and waved the blonde over. Cloud looked up and nodded at her. He turned back to Alaina.

"It was nice to meet you, James." He said, smiling. He seemed less nervous. Alaina nodded.

"It was nice to meet you as well, Cloud." She stated. Cloud clasped her on the shoulder.

"See you around." He said, waving as he made his way to the nurse. Said nurse, Alaina noticed, was practically drooling over the young blonde as he made his way over to her. She was blonde, which was clearly died, and she wore a very short nurses outfit with cheap high heels. Alaina found herself rather disgusted with the the woman, and shook her head.

"Don't mind her. She's always like that." Came a voice to her right. Alaina looked up, expecting to see Zack, but instead meeting the steady, cocky, gaze of a certain 1st class clad in red. Alaina gasped and leaned away from him as best she could in her chair. Genesis smirked at her and looked up in the direction of the nurse, who was sitting back at her desk, looking up now and then to stared at said 1st class. He gave her a small smirk and a wink before looking back down at Alaina.

"She was drooling over you earlier, while you were talking to the young blonde boy." He said, his smirk not leaving his, admittedly hansom, features for a moment. Alaina glared at him, sitting right in her seat again. Though he seemed to know a lot about her, and what she wanted to know, she didn't much like his cocky attitude. It was almost as bad at the redhead with the ponytail she'd met when she got hurt.

"You're starting to get on my nerves, you know." Alaina murmured. Genesis only chuckled at her, moving to sit down next to her, something he did with a grace that only annoyed her more. He turned in the chair so that he could face her, on leg on the chair itself while the other was still on the groud supporting him. His arm was resting on the back of her chair cassually, making Alaina all the more uncomfortable. He smirked, watching her stiffen. He leaned in close to her ear.

"Sweet heart," He whispered softly, smoothly, in her ear. Alaina shuttered. "You have a spider on your shoulder." Alaina's eyes widened at the words and her body froze a few seconds before she started trembling.

"G-g-get it off!" She plead, her voice high pitched but no more than a whisper. She heard Genesis chuckle before she felt him touch her shoulder a moment. He shifted beside her a little, getting ride of said spider. Alaina didn't move till the red clad SOLDIER placed his hand on her forearm.

"I don't like spiders. I seriously do not like spiders." She whispered, her body still trembling slightly. She couldn't remember why she hated and feared them so much, she just did.

"Somethin' going on here?" Came a voice that sent relief through her body, causing it to relax. She looked up and smiled at Zack. Genesis glowered at said 2nd class before he composed himself and got up calmly.

"Not at all. I was just leaving." Genesis made good on his promise and left without another word, winking again at the nurse before he was completely out the door. Zack stared at him, a bit confused but shrugged it off, plopping down next to Alaina. They were both quiet for a while before Zack's stomach broke the silence, growling loudly. Both of them laughed at it.

"Man! I'm so hungry I could eat a chocobo!" He groad jokingly. Alaina probed his side with her finger.

"Is there anything you don't eat?" She teased playfully. Zack grinned in turn and laughed. His stomach let out another growl and he frowned at it. Alaina was about to speak when the nurse caught her eye. She was waving for her to come in. Alaina looked back at Zack.

"If you let me get out of this, I'll make you dinner for a month!" Alaina stated, giving him a pleading look behind her visor. Zack thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

"As tempting at that sounds, no. You've got to go, or we'll both be in trouble." Alaina groaned but rose, walking towards the nurse, who was looking her over. Alaina shook her head again. Despite her disgust with the woman, she was as nervous as before. She looked over her shoulder at Zack, who urged her on with a wave of his hand. She let out a soft sigh before continuing into the room, really not looking forward to meeting this doctor.


	11. Mission

**The next chapter. As usually, all words and phrases used. This is the second to last chapter. I'm going to have my work cut out for me, trying to finish the story in a chapter less than 2,000 words. So wish me luck. The offer still stands. If you can guess three of the words needed or four of the phrases, I will write you a one-shot. ^.^ Because I feel like it and like being busy. X3  
**

**Thanks to:**

**xxDarkAssassinxx**

**Stoccarda**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Alaina looked around the room she stood. To her, it looked like a woman's bedroom from a long time ago, long before she was born. She stood in the doorway and looked around. To her left, sat an old wooden desk, dust covering the papers on top in such thick layers, Alaina had a difficult time seeing the words scratched on the, now yellowing, square. To her right, there way a large bed, a lot bigger than was needed for a single person. She noticed a dress, coupled with a corset and shoes, laying on the fading sheets. It was as if it was laid out, ready for a beautiful lady to slip it on for a wonderful evening on the town.

Alaina noticed a few shelves on the wall. Across from her, there was a shelf that held a glass urn, once clear, now brown with dirt, dust and grime. There was another shelf under a high window, it's glass pane dirty and dusty as most else in and around the room. The shelf held a figurine of a dancing girl, her beautiful face covered in dust and her once bight paint fading with age.

Alaina walked up to the shelf and, standing on her toes, wiped some of the dust from her painted face. Her lips, with red paint clipping off, seemed to be pulled down in a frown.

"What have I done to deserve such treatment?" The dancing woman seemed to say. Alaina stroked a finger down the doll's hair gently. The material, whatever it was, felt coarse and harsh under her finger.

Looking around the room again, with the little light that came through the dusty and dirt covered windows from the moon, it's light at it's brightest. To Alaina, it looked abandoned, and creepy. She felt as every nerve and sense heighten, making her nervous.

She jumped when she heard the creak of the old floor boards at the enterance of the room. She spun around quickly, grabbing her gun as she did, and crouched low, firing off two rounds.

The sounds of them bouncing off metal were heard as the person blocked her attack. Alaina's eyes widened when she realized who she'd been firing at.

"Did you just try to kill me?" He asked, his tone unusually playful. He held his sword at his side casually in one hand. He other hand resting by his side. Alaina flushed under her visor. After the injection, done by a man in a lab coat, she'd been sent, right away, on a mission. She was given orders by Lazard and Sephiroth was told to go with. The whole exchange was strange.

_

* * *

_____

Alaina

stepped into Lazard's office, Sephiroth walking behind her. They were both told that they were to go to his office at once by a, rather annoyed, turk with black hair. Alaina felt nervous. It was only her second week in SOLDIER. Though a lot more people had found out about her being a girl than she had planned, she couldn't possibly been discovered by the higher-ups so soon. And, for those that had figured her out, she was sure that they weren't going to tell any one any time soon. Regardless of these thoughts, she was still nervous. Still thought that might be the reason she was summoned. 

_'But why was Sephiroth called as well then?' She asked herself, stealing a glace at the silent general standing beside her. She turned her attention back to Lazard as he looked up from the paper work at his desk and focused on the two of them. _

_Alaina had heard about Lazard a few times before, from her brother, but this was her first time seeing him. To be honest, Director Lazard was rather hansom. His blonde hair falling in his face in a way that looked both professional and attractive. His square glasses sat on his thin nose, giving him an intelligent look. His skin was pale, like he didn't get to see the sun often. _

_He watched the two of them, Alaina in particular. He picked up a folder off his desk and handed it to her, not taking his eyes off her a moment. Alaina hesitated a moment before she took it from him. She suppressed the urge to shiver as her hand brushed his gloved one when she took the folder. He held the folder a moment, still staring at her, before he released it. Alaina quickly snatched the folder back. She stared at him for a moment longer before she let her gaze drop to the folder in her hand. She flipped it open and skimmed over the file. _

_It was pretty basic. The two of them were to go investigate a tip they had received that there was a group of Wutai scientist working on something that could possibly win the war for them. It was in a location Alaina didn't know, but that wasn't very surprising since she didn't pay attention in class when it came to those things. She noticed Sephiroth wasn't looking at the folder at all. _

_'Did he read it already?' She questioned. Though she didn't voice her queary. Instead, she closed the file and returned her gaze to Lazard. _

_"When do we leave, sir?" She asked, her voice low and powerful to keep her appearance unknown. She's been working on keeping her voice low, and it seemed to work. He didn't seem to question her voice, though it sounded strange to Alaina's ears. _

_"You leave in an hour. Get ready whatever you need, the trip could take up to a week. Sephiroth will accompany you. There will be a chopper waiting for you on the roof in an hour and it will be leaving in an hour. You'd better be on it by then or it will leave without you." He said, his voice stern and business-like. Alaina nodded and snapped off a salute, something she'd also been practicing._

_"Sir!" She replied. Lazard nodded in ecnowlagement. She turned abruptly and left the office to go pack her things, still unsure why she was given a mission so soon._

* * *

Alaina

stood again, directly at Sephiroth. She ignored his question, obviously a rhetorical one. She looked around again.

"We're sure this is the right place?" She asked, sceptical. Sephiroth's gaze followed hers as she looked at the dancing girl figurine. Sephiroth nodded after a moment.

"This is where the tip said it was." He stated. Alaina looked up at him. "But, this place still seems. . . odd for a Wutain hideout of any kind." He mused. He looked behind him, out of the door.

"I have a few other place to look. Go to the helicopter. I'll be there in a bit." He said, turning to leave. Alaina didn't like that.

"Sephiroth! This is my mission! I should-" Sephiroth cut her off.

"That wasn't a request." He stated coldly. Alaina flinched at his sudden change in attitude. He moved from the door slightly, going out into the hall.

"Go." He growled to her, not even looking her way. Alaina gulped and did as he said, walking quickly out of the room towards the exit. When she got outside, she was met with a cold breaze, making her shiver. It blew harshly in her direction, as if trying to push her back inside. Alaina ignored the wind, squinting her eyes to look for the helicopter in the dark. She found the path she'd taken in the dim moonlight and she made her way in that direction, cursing her lack of sleeves the entire way.

"Yeah. They're not out yet. No, I- Hold on. He's here. No, not Sephiroth. The newbie. Jamie or whatever." Reno spoke into the phone in a loud voice, over the sounds of the helicopter, as Alaina climbed into the vehicle.

"James." She grumbled as she pulled herself up. Reno rolled his eyes at her. He paused and looked off to the side, clearly listening intently to the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Yes sir." He stated before pulling said phone from the phone and handing it to her. "For you." Alaina nodded, taking the phone from the redheaded turk and pressing it to her own ear.

"Sir." She stated, her voice clipped. She was nervous and annoyed at Sephiroth's order back in the house. She didn't want to take to anyone right now.

"Stevens! What's the status of your mission?" Asked the person on the other end. Based on the voice, it was the black haired head turk. She wanted to growl at him. Instead, she stayed quiet, trying to calm herself.

"Stevens! Is the threat real or not?" He asked. Alaina growled into the receiver.

"You need a reality check." She stated. "This is a person's house, which has long since been abandoned." She growled at the man.

"Do _not_ take that tone with me, soldier. Have you looked all around the area?" The man said.

"No. Sephiroth is doing that." She stated coldly.

"This is _your_ mission Stevens." He told her, equally as cold.

"He _ordered_me to leave." She informed him. The line became suddenly quiet, making Alaina nervous.

"Stevens, tell Reno to go after Sephiroth and assist him." He said, with sudden urgency. Alaina was confused, and the nervous feeling continued to grow.

"Sir?"

"And don't leave the helicopter. That's an order." He stated.

"Y-yes sir." Alaina stated, hanging up the phone and turning to Reno. Reno raised an eyebrow at her.

"He said that you need to go after Sephiroth and help him." She told him, confusion clear in her voice. Reno gave her a strange look before something clicked in his head. His expression turned determined and he rushed out of the helicopter, grabbing his weapon and rushing the way she'd come.

"Stay there!" He yelled over his shoulder. Alaina gaped at him.

_What in the world's going on? _She looked around. It seemed so peaceful and whatnot. She sat at the edge of the helicopter, staring in the direction Reno'd run away to. She sighed and plopped her hands on her knees, resting her chin in her palms.

"And here I thought I would have to fight the redhead before I could get to you." Came a mocking, male voice behind her. "I am forever indebted to you." Alaina gasped. She spun around to face the owner of the voice, reaching for her gun.

But it wasn't there.

Alaina only grasped air. She looked down abruptly to find her holster empty. She looked back up at the man and she was met with the barrel of her own gun.

"Looking for this?" The man asked. She couldn't get a good look at him, though she still glared over the barrel of the offending weapon.

"Who are you?" She growled. The man chuckled.

"Does it really matter?" He asked, mocking. Alaina glared more fiercely.

"How can I put your name on your tomb stone if I don't have it?" She countered. The man chuckled.

"No matter how much you babble about it, you won't be able to change a thing." He stated. Alaina frowned.

"What do you mean?" She asked. The man moved toward her with such speed that she couldn't even think about countering. He ripped of her helmet, her hair tumbling free. He gripped a few of the charcoal locks and retched her head back, pressing the cold metal of the gun against her cheek.

"You can't change the fact that I'm going to use you, and your power, to distroy Shinra." He stated with a laugh. Alaina's eyes widened.

"What?" He answered her by striking her with the butt of her own gun. Alaina's vision flickered a moment, her eyes meeting with the cold and unforgiving ones of her soon-to-be captor, before her world went completely black.


	12. Answers?

**The final chapter of Fatal Choice, sort of. Unless my rival posts as well, this will be the final chapter. If she does, there will be a epilogue. Just so you guys know, I do plan on making another story after this one, for this, but it won't be out for quite some time, so please don't bug me about it. The offer from the last two chapters still stand. **

**Warning: Slight swearing and character death.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy.**

**Thanks to: **

**xxDarkAssassinxx**

**Dark Rose 1559  
**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Sephiroth walked away from the building, Reno in tow. He had sent the girl away, having sensed the presences of something powerful, a fiend. And, of course, he was right on target. Though it was powerful, Sephiroth had little trouble slaying it. He wondered if the girl _would_ have been able to handle it. He quickly dismissed the thought, however, she just would have gotten hurt.

"This feels redundant somehow." Reno said behind him, musing over his own thoughts. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at the redhead but said nothing, continuing towards the helicopter.

Within less than a hundred meters of the vehichal, however, Sephiroth felt something wrong. He couldn't place what it was though. He walked faster, taking long strides. Reno had to jog to keep up with his pace.

"Yo, Sephiroth! Wha's the hurry?" Reno asked, raising his voice above the howling wind. Sephiroth, of course, didn't answer him. Reno let out a frustrated huff and continued after him.

"Yo! I was talking to-" Reno stopped mid sentence and mid stride when they came over the hill where the chopper rest. It was now in hundreds of pieces. Reno's jaw dropped as he stared at it, his eyes wide.

"Wha- WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" He yelled. His gaze flickered to Sephiroth as he swiftly made his way towards the rubble. His anger flickered out as he remembered the newbie.

"Shit!" Reno rushed at the rubble, passing Sephiroth, and looked around in it, picking up pieces here and there. While he was trying to find bits and parts of the SOLDIER, Sephiroth noticed tracks. They weren't obvious, but they were there, and they were leading both to and from the site.

Without a word to Reno, Sephiroth followed the footsteps. Who's ever they were, they'd messed with the wrong person. Sephiroth was interested in the girl. She had a lot of guts to sneak into Shinra like that. It peaked the silver-haired general's interest.

"I'm going to give you an earful when this ends." Sephiroth muttered to himself as he followed the tracks.

* * *

Alaina groaned as she awoke, her head pounding. She rub the spot on her head that ached the most, wincing when she brushed a solid bump on it. Rubbing her head gently, she looked around. She was sitting in a booth in the front room of, what looked like, an inn. This place was very dusty though. The chandelier not far from where she sat, was covered in dirt and grime, allowing very little light to pass through.

Confused, Alaina sat up.

"Where-. . ." Alaina trailed off, looking around more intently.

"Oh crap!" Alaina quickly scrambled out of the booth and looked for the man who'd attacked her. She heard a creak from across the room, in a dimly lit corner. Alaina spun around towards the stand, reaching for her gun. Of course, it wasn't there.

"Don't bother. I still have your gun as well as your sword." Said the man, rising out of a rocking chair and making his way towards her. Alaina took two steps back for every step he took towards her.

"What's the matter, little monkey? Are you afraid of me?" He asked, letting out a barking laugh that made Alaina jump. Alaina glowered at him, though she said nothing. The man stopped laughing so suddenly it sent ice cold shivers down Alaina's spine. It went silent, with the exception of the dripping sound of a leaking faucet and the subtle sounds of the man's footsteps. She made a mental note of how quiet he was when he walked. She would have to stay alert.

Uncomfortable with the silence, Alaina decided to break it with one of the most over used questions when it came to kidnapping.

"Who are you? What do you want?" She yelled. She jumped when she felt the back of her legs hit something behind her. She looked back and it and scowled.

_Stupid table. _She growled mentally. Feeling a rush of wind blow pass her, she turned her head abruptly back to face forward, and was met by two bright blue eyes. She gasped and leaned back, putting as much distance as she could with the table behind her. Taking a good look at the man's face, she noticed a scar down his right eye. It looked like he was burned by oil. The scare was pale, not much paler than the rest of his skin, and had a bit of a pink hue to it.

Surprisingly, it didn't disgust her. Just made her wince a little. It looked like it would have hurt.

The man smiled at her reaction, leaning in closer so that his lips were right next to her ear.

"Do you really want to know?" He asked, in answer to her earlier question. Alaina tried to surpress a shiver but failed miserably, her entire body trembling for a moment. When she regained a bit of her sense, she tried to shove the man off her. But, of course, he didn't budge. It angered Alaina that she couldn't move him. Here she was, able to move a couch by herself, but she couldn't move a man that was only a little taller than her?

"What the hell do you want?" She yelled. The man smirked at her He pressed closer to her, pinning her between himself and the table till she was practicully sitting on it.

"Simple." He stated, pulling face back so he could look down at her, which angered her all the more. "I want the power you have been given to change this world." Alaina gave him a you're-crazy look. He just laughed at her.

"This world needs me to lead it." Alaina growled at him. Though she was throughly confused about these _powers _she supposedly had, she was too angry. He wanted to _use_ her? She shoved at his chest again, though he moved back an inch, slightly caught off guard.

"You're crazy, ugly scare-face. And I'm not going to help you!" She yelled. The man's face went to playful to enraged in a matter of moments. He grabbed her by the throat and shoved her backwards so she lay on table in an uncomfortable position. She gasped, clawing at his hand. Though she could breath, it wasn't the easiest task in the world.

"One day I will rule this country and you'll regret saying those things to me." He growled at her.

"Country? I thought you want to rule the world, crazy-scare-face." She sneered. The man's eyes flashed dangerously and he tightened his grip on her throat, close to completely crushing her windpipe. She coughed and sputtered, gripping his arm, trying to pry it off. She noticed that his other hand was next to her head, on the table. She smirked at him.

"Is that. . . All you got?" She taunted, though she had trouble breathing. He growled and, as she had hoped, leaned forward put more weight on her throat. As he did, he also put most of his weight on his hand on the table. Alaina smirked.

Quickly, she removed both of her hands from the hand on her throat and she grabbed the sleeve of the man's coat and pulled his hand towards her with as much strength as she could muster, while, at the same time, she kicked his opposite hip. For extra measure, she also threw herself in the same direction as the man's arm. All of this, plus his surprise, managed to flip the man over, nearly making him fall off the table. Standing above him, his hand no longer around her thoat, Alaina stood over him. She pressed the barrel of her gun, which she'd just snached from his belt, and leaned close to him.

"Now, crazy-scare-face, maybe you can tell me what on Gaia you were talking about when you said that you wanted my powers." The man, despite the possion he was in, laughed at her.

"You just don't get it, do you?" He snickered at her glare. "Why are you in SOLDIER anyway?"

Alaina was a little taken aback by that question. She just stared at him. She figured she didn't need to answer anyway. She was right.

"You questioned your brother's death, didn't you?" Alaina just nodded, a little dumbfounded. The man smirked again. He sat up suddenly, one hand thrusting her hand, which held her gun, down, so that it no longer threatened her life. Alaina jumped, not expecting that. She moved to jump away, but the man used his free hand to pulled her against him by her waist.

"You were right. You're brother didn't die on some mission. He died trying to protect you." He looked up at her, his blue eyes seeming to glow in the dark. Her insides when cold, not just from the looked that he was giving her at that moment.

_Dwayne died. . . Protecting me? _Alaina stared at him a moment. She felt as if his hand was around her throat again. She couldn't breath.

"Wh-who was he trying to protect me from?" She asked, hesitant. The man just smirked at her, not saying a word.

"Who killed him?" She yelled. The man's smirk darkened, a sadistic look.

"Shinra." He muttered. Alaina's eyes went wide. Shinra killed her brother? Before she could do a thing. Before she could move, the sound of clapping reached her ears. Both Alaina and the man turned to the sound. Standing in the doorway, was none other than Sephiroth himself.

"Pretty speach." He said to the man his voice and expression void of emotion.

_Speach? He- . . . Of course he was lying you dolt! He wanted to use you! Why wouldn't he make up something like that?_Alaina turned an angry glare on the man before shoving away from him. The man attempted to reach for her, but Sephiroth was already on the man, Masumune drawn. The first man didn't even have a chance to draw a weapon, the 1st class's already piercing through his body. Alaina stared at the man as he fell to the floor in a heap, blood pouring from his wound and dripping from his mouth. Sephiroth looked over at her. After a moment of staring at each other, Sephiroth extended his hand towards her.

"Come. It's time to go back." He stated. Alaina nodded and took his hand, stepping over the dead body. Sephiroth lead her to Reno, who waved at the two of them.

"Hey! You two! Let's go! Shinra's sending a chopper now!" He yelled before turning his back on them. Alaina laughed softly at Reno. He was quite funny. Beside her, Sephiroth stopped suddenly. Alaina frowned and looked up at him, wondering why he'd stopped. She was met by a pair of soft pale lips. Alaina's eyes widened. He was kissing her! _Sephiroth_was kissing her! After a moment, during which the general stared at her, Alaina relaxed, pressing closer to him, her hands resting on his chest. Through the contact of their lips, Alaina felt him smirk.

After a moment, the two of them pulled away, Alaina gasping for air. Sephiroth smirked at her flushed expression and tucked some of her grey hair behind her ears to get a better look.

"Oh no!" She gasped suddenly, tugging at her hair and looking in Reno's direction. "He won't tell, right?" Sephiroth chuckled.

"After all this, you didn't change one bit." He stated, grabbing her hand again and leading her to where Reno, now with a helicopter, waited. Alaina just looked up at him.

"No. He won't tell." Alaina breathed a sigh of relief as Sephiroth helped her board the helicopter.

As the helicopter took off, Alaina looked up at the sky.

_Dwyane. You have no idea how much you mean to me. I'll find your killer. I promise. _


	13. Writer's note

**This is an Author's note, not another chapter!**

**Alright. . . first, I won the contest so there will be no epilogue. Thank goodness, I was struggling with just working these chapters into a half decent story. ^.^' I think I managed okay, though it, obviously, needs work. **

**Second, thanks to Tired FF fan, I think I _am_ going to go with the reconstruction of this story, now that the contest is over. When I do, I will leave another Author's note to let y'all know, 'kay? **

**Tired FF fan brought up some interesting points. First, he (Or she, I do not know) stated that I am miles and miles away from becoming a professional writer. I know that. Duh! But, I find it extremely funny that he (or she) is doing this off of my short stories. Off of my random day dream, and a part of the contest. Tis very amusing. X3 Tired FF fan also stated that he (or she) could 'see the plot development frommiles away.' This also amuses me. Quite honestly, FF fan, I'm glad you could see the development, because I couldn't. This story continued to turn corners I did not know were there. I just went with it and tried my best to keep it on a straight course. **

**Another point Tired FF fan pointed out was that, my main character was a Mary Sue. Well, Nice to meet you Tired FF fan, my name is Mary. Mary Sue. Yes, I pretty much put myself into this story. Wanna know why? Because, seeing the nature of contest I was partaking in, I knew I would have to have a character that I knew how she would react to the different situations. Call her a self insert if you wish, I honestly don't care. ^.^**

**An interesting point he (or she) made, was that Alaina was able to do fairly well against Angeal, even though he's a first class SOLDIER, though she is just barely joined SOLDIER. This makes me really want to put out the next story out, to help explain this. For now, I will settle here. Alaina, for one, was fighting while scared. Have you ever done that before? I have. I would have just as well, including hurting myself much like her. Second, SOLDIER is not the beginning of her life. If you would remember, or read, Alaina was training when you first met her. She knows how to use a sword, for reasons I will not yet state because they contain spoilers. **

**I know that her having powers and people coming after her because of them is cliche. I originally, I wanted them to go after the sword and crystal. But, alas, the words would not permit me do continue on that path. **

**He recomended some stories to read too, which I thank him for, and will read. Though my fanfictions aren't the best, mostly because they are done when I'm bored or can't think of anything to write for my novel, which take top priority. **

**Though what he reviewed may be considered a 'flame', I still thank him for it. **

**Wish I had more of those, honestly. **

**Anyway, I will be redoing this but, I am in the middle of moving and working on many other project, including a suicidal project on here. I will also be redoing Final Fantasy Babysitter. I am aware it is crap, much like all of my other stories on here, but I haven't the time, just yet, to redo my stories. **

**I will, if this actually keeps a scedual, first fix Fatal Choice, then Final Fantasy Babysitter, then The earth girl will have to save us (I'll fix the title too), than I will move on from there. But, as I said, I have twenty other projects I'm working on, and that's just my writing. **

**Writing is my life and I can take all the criticism you can throw, so don't be afriad to tell me what I'm doing wrong. There is nothing you can throw at me that I haven't already scolded myself for. Doesn't mean I don't want your criticism though, I want people to point out the points they notice so I have something to focus on when I'm fixing things. **

**That includes you DarkAssassin! **

**Sorry about the super long Writer's note. **

**Ja ne,**

**Shezu**


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